Waitin' On a Sunny Day
by vaughnloveralwaysandforev
Summary: Riley Brennan has been through a lot over the past year and is involuntarily moving to Minnesota to get away from it all. She wants to move on, but what happens when she helps with the Olympic team and some things become even harder?
1. Prologue: New Beginnings

Hey guys, I finally have a new story ready to post. I would appreciate any kind of feedback, even if it's just one or two words, so that I know I have some readers out there. I'm going to try to update every Friday at least until I start school again. This story is a little different from my other ones, because I'm having two outside characters. I know the summary is only based on one of them, but the other character will have a pretty big role later on.

Also, just a couple of notes... there will be some flashbacks, especially in the beginning, because I wanted to show aspects of the character's past without just explaining everything. They aren't necessarily pertinent to the story, so if you're bored by them, skip them. You'll still know exactly what's going on without reading them. Another note is that the flashbacks are sad, and you might need some tissues for the first chapter if you're emotional like me, lol. (I cry every time I read this chapter, and I wrote it...)

This chapter is more of an intro chapter and the guys won't make an appearance yet. Sorry that it's not too exciting. I promise they will get better. Anyway, without further a due...

**Prologue: New Beginnings**

Waking up with a pounding headache and thinking you would be better off dead was no way to start the day. The bright sunlight streaming through the partially closed blinds made it even worse.

_I have to remember to watch how much I drink_, the half asleep teenager thought, regretting her stupid decision to join in a case race with the guys the previous night. _At least my team won_, she thought victoriously, though it wasn't any thanks to her. She could hardly tolerate drinking beer without adding the fact that she was a light weight. Rolling over in bed, the girl suddenly realized she wasn't in her room, let alone her bed. Instead of rolling into the wall that was supposed to be there, she rolled into another body. A big body. Now she regretted the previous night ever more.

"Shit," she said out loud, though barely above a whisper. "What did I do this time?" Making every effort to get up quietly so as to not wake up the shirtless, still sleeping guy she had been in bed with, she climbed out of bed, grabbed her clothes off the floor, and tiptoed into the bathroom.

_He's probably pretty out of it too_, she thought, thankful for small favors.

Hoping that a shower would wake her up a bit, she turned on the shower and stepped in before even letting the water get warm. The ice cold water didn't faze her though, as she couldn't stop thinking about the previous night. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the thoughts of the guy in the next room out of her mind.

_What was I thinking? Oh yeah, that's right, I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't be here. How did I let things go this far? None of this should have ever happened. I shouldn't be here right now, not with him._

Once she finished in the shower, trying to think about anything other than the night before, she dried off and threw her clothes back on, ready to do the 'walk of shame' she heard college students talk about before. It was funny, because she never even knew if things happened that way, but now she knew that they apparently do happen just like everyone says. She just wished she could remember even a little bit of what had happened last night. The only thing she remembered was the case race. _Why am I ever here?_ She thought again, though already knowing the general answer, which was enough for her. She thought back to the past several months, wishing things could be different.

Four months ago...

"Mom, you can't be serious. There's no way I'm moving," she yelled, angry about the news.

"Look, I'm doing what's best for everyone, and this is it. We're moving - end of story."

"But why now? Why can't we wait for a few more months?" she said, whining. She knew she sounded like a five-year-old, but at this point, she didn't care. Moving the summer before her senior year of high school was crazy.

"You know we can't wait a few more months, Riley. That would defeat the purpose of us moving."

Riley knew what her mother was talking about. Like usual, she wouldn't come right out and say it though. _As if that would make it less of a reality_, Riley thought. _Mom, dad's dead. He's gone and never coming back. Would it kill you to talk about it instead of pretending like it never happened?_

Instead, Riley said, "Fine." She knew she would never win the argument anyway. Tomorrow she'd be packing to move four hundred some miles from her home in Chicago to St. Paul, Minnesota in the middle of nowhere and that was that. _But Mom better realize that if I have to move to Minnesota, I'm not going to pretend to be okay with it, _Riley thought bitterly.

The next morning, Riley woke up and went downstairs for breakfast to find her best friend, Jenna, already there to help her pack. Riley's mom made pancakes for everyone, mainly because she wanted to finish the milk and eggs before moving day. Riley and Jenna tried to eat breakfast and talk like they always did, but today it was really difficult. The two friends knew that today was one of the last times they would be able to hang out, and being that their day together was going to be spent packing, it was hard to even look forward to it.

Once the girls went to Riley's room to pack, they stopped trying to make conversation and just focused on the task at hand. "Where do you want these?" Jenna asked, holding up some framed pictures of Riley and her dad.

"You can put them in the box with the baseball and hockey stuff," Riley said, referring to the box she had with every possible memory of her dad.

Ever since Riley was really young, she had been extremely close to her dad. He took her to countless Cubs and Blackhawks games, taught her everything she knew about sports and most of what she learned in life in general, and was always, always there for her. When he got sick, Riley didn't know how she would survive without him, and prayed she would never have to find out. Unfortunately, she found out less than a year later.

_Late May, 1979_

_Riley came home from school on a sunny Thursday afternoon to find an ambulance at her house. She immediately began freaking out, and ran from the corner bus stop to her house._

_"What's going on?" Riley screamed running up the front porch steps and into the house._

_"They're taking your dad to the hospital. He passed out and they think there might be something wrong with his cell counts," her Mom told her._

_"I'm going with you," Riley said. Her mother just nodded, knowing Riley would want to go._

_Waiting in the hospital for the tests to be completed was agonizing. Riley was pacing the family room area, while her brother and sister were happily watching TV. Her mom was pretending to be reading a magazine, but every little while, Riley would look over at her mother and see that she had been crying. Since her mother was crying, Riley knew it was bad. Mary Brennan almost never cried._

_For the next week, Riley spent every moment she could with her dad. The whole family was coming and going all of the time. Riley knew it was a bad sign, but didn't want to admit that everything might not be okay._

_By the first week in June, Riley's dad had been moved to a hospice room. Riley knew hospice meant imminent death, but still couldn't face it. She had final exams coming up in school, but just didn't care. She didn't care about anything anymore – except her dad getting better._

_On June 9__th__, Riley's entire family was in the hospital room. Dan Brennan was acting like his normal, healthy self, and laughing and joking like nothing was wrong, which gave Riley hope. He looked really good. That night, after the extended family left, Riley, her mom, and siblings all stayed because Mary thought it would be a good idea. Riley was trying to stay awake, but it had been a long day and she was tired. She ended up falling asleep next to her dad's bed. The next morning, Riley woke up with the sun coming in the hospital window, and she hoped it would be another good day for her dad. She looked across the bed to where her mom was sitting, and noticed that she was crying._

_"Mom what's wrong? Dad had a good day yesterday, and maybe he'll have another good day today."_

_"Oh Riley," her mom said, crying harder. She went around to the opposite side of the bed and wrapped her daughter in a hug. "He slipped into a coma a few hours ago. The doctor's are saying he probably won't wake up. Within a few hours, he'll probably be gone. I'm so sorry." While Riley's mom was trying to soothe her, Riley was sitting there in shock. Yesterday, her dad was doing so well, how could he be that much worse less than 12 hours later?_

_"No Mom, he can't die! Daddy can't!" Riley cried, reverting to what she called her dad when she was five. Right now, Riley wished she was five again – when everything was perfect and there were no worries._

_The doctor insisted Dan could hear them talking, so each of the family members took turns saying their goodbyes. Riley refused and left the room at first, she didn't want to believe any of this was actually happening. Finally, after her mother pleaded with her for the tenth time, Riley agreed to talk to her dad. She wouldn't say goodbye though._

_"Hi Dad," Riley started. "The doctors are saying you're not going to wake up, but I know you're not leaving us yet. I need you. We all need you. They wanted me to come in here to say goodbye, but I just can't. Instead, I'm going to talk about our yearly summer vacation. I can't wait for Cape Cod this year dad. Just relaxing on the beach will be great. We'll play catch like we always do, dad. You'll carry Erin in the water so the jellyfish can't touch her, and you and Kyle will go fishing before any of us girls are awake. We'll have so much fun, dad. So you need to-" Riley was cut off by the steady beeping of the heart rate monitor turning into a loud, long beep. She looked up and saw a flat line instead of the normal spikes._

_"Mom what's happening?" Riley asked. Her mom was already crying uncontrollably, after hearing Riley talk about their summer vacations, and knowing that Dan was dying made it even worse._

_On cue, the doctor and two nurses came in._

_"Are we resusutating?" a nurse asked. The doctor looked at Mary, who shook her head._

"_Time of death, 11:22," the doctor said, and switched off the monitor._

"_No!" Riley screamed. "Get him back. You can't give up! You can't give up!" she screamed, pleaded to whoever would listen. "Please. Help him! Please," she said, breaking down into tears._

_Riley's mom wrapped her arms around her three kids and kissed each on the top of the head. "He's gone. I'm so sorry guys."_

_"No," Riley said. "No, please no!" She broke away from her mom and ran to the bed where her dad was laying, wrapping her arms around him, resting her head on his chest and not letting go. Her mom went over to the bed and softly rubbed her daughter's back, trying to soothe her. Kyle and Erin followed their mother, but stayed back from the bed. They didn't want to get too close. Neither of them was crying, but finally, Erin started sobbing._

_"I want Daddy!" Mary turned around to comfort her other, younger daughter now. Kyle still had an expressionless look on his face, and didn't start crying until his mom wrapped him in a hug._

_For a good twenty minutes, the family stayed in the hospital room, trying to grasp the fact that their lives would never be the same._

Jenna noticed Riley lost in a trance and interrupted her thoughts. "Hey, moving won't be that bad Ry," she said, trying to cheer her best friend up. It didn't really work though.

"Yes it will," Riley said. "I mean - Minnesota of all places. Come on. I'm a city girl. I've lived my entire life in Chicago and now, because my mom's family lives in corn country, hicksville, Minnesota, the land of a thousand lakes, I have to move there and pick up everything. Moving will be bad, Jen."

"Well, maybe you'll find out that the country isn't that bad. And it's not like you'll be living on a farm. St. Paul is a good-sized city."

"A good-sized city filled with hicks. Come on, I might as well be living on a farm. At least farms have lots of opened land so when I kill myself because of boredom, no one will be able to find my body," Riley said sarcastically. Jenna just laughed, thinking she was exaggerating. Riley wasn't so she was exaggerating though.

Late that afternoon, Riley finally finished packing. Looking around her now almost empty bedroom, she couldn't believe it was actually happening. After living in Chicago, in this house, her entire life, she had to move away. Minnesota was looking worse by the minute. She only hoped something good would come out of it. _Dad always said that everything happens for a reason,_ Riley thought. _I'm not so sure I believe him now though._


	2. Chapter 1: Small Town

Dogdaysareover: Thanks for your review! I hope you like the next chapter.

LTJM: Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Skyler1510: Thanks for your review! I am definitely continuing this and I'll update as often as possible.

NellieBly413672: Thanks for your review! I'm glad you like it so far, and thanks again for the shout out.

A/N: Thanks to everyone else who read the beginning of the story. Like I said before, I'm going to update about once a week. If anyone has any comments or suggestions for the story, let me know. The team will be making an appearance this chapter, and things will be picking up soon. Please review if you can! Reviews usually inspire me to write. One more thing… if there are any readers here that haven't checked out the story "Dream On" by NellieBly413672, you should. It's really good so far, and some parts are really funny.

**Chapter 1: Small Town**

On a sunny June morning in Colorado, Herb Brooks was in a hockey rink, watching college hockey players tryout for his Olympic team. The USOC set up the tryouts for a week, but Herb knew he wouldn't need a week. Herb barely needed a day to pick his team. For the most part, he already knew what guys he wanted on his team.

Once the tryout was over for the day, he gave his assistant coach, Craig Patrick, the list, along with some tests for the guys to take. It was just a little thing Herb wanted to give them to see how they would answer. He had a feeling he could guess how most of them would answer certain questions, but he almost took pleasure in doing it anyway. He wanted to make sure he was picking the right players, the ones that could handle the stress and rigorous schedule and training.

The guys that were picked for the team were ecstatic, as would be assumed. OC and Rizzo were clearing out of the stands like the other players and picked up their "homework" on the way out. They guessed that it would be another form to fill out. They already filled out their name and all the basics, but now that they were actually picked for the team, they were guessing they needed to fill out other information, like emergency contacts, health information, and other important details.

"Did you look at the packet?" Dave Silky asked, walking up behind them.

"Not yet," Rizzo answered.

"It's a fucking psychology test," he said in almost a whisper. He didn't want anyone to hear him. Especially not Herb Brooks. Silky decided he was sort of scary, and Silky wasn't scared of many people.

"A psychology test?" asked Rizzo.

"Yeah right," said OC. "Why would he give us a psychology test?"

"I don't know, but want to answer the questions together later on? I think a bunch of guys are going to that bar we passed on our way here. The one that's a few minutes down the road."

"Count me in," Rizzo said. "How 'bout you, OC?"

"I don't know. I think I'll pass."

"I'm sure the bar's big enough to steer clear of the Minnesotans," Silky said, immediately knowing his reason for 'passing'.

"I'll see, okay. I'm not making any decisions now." Silky knew that was that. OC was as stubborn as hell, and no one could change his mind about anything. OC had to make opinions and change his mind all on his own.

As the guys were clearing out, Mac stopped Rizzo, who he just met earlier in the locker room. "Hey Rizzo, congratulations on making the team."

"You too, Mac." They learned their nicknames through talking before.

"Everyone's going out to celebrate later tonight at that Paluzzi's Place or whatever it's called. You and your boys in?"

"Sure Mac," Rizzo said, not bothering to tell him that they were already planning on going. He wanted the conversation to end before OC came back over from talking to Jimmy and had something to say about Rizzo talking to Mac. Rizzo didn't really care if OC got mad, but he tried to keep the peace at all costs.

Later on at the bar, most of the guys were having a good time. There was clear regional segregation, but the guys were still starting to get to know each other. Aside from playing against each other, most of the guys from different Minnesota schools didn't know each other well yet.

"So, you're Harrington, right?" Verchota asked Bah at one point in the evening.

"Yeah, but you can call me Bah. You're Verchota, right?"

Verchota nodded, and then asked, "Why Bah?"

"It's a long story," Bah said.

"It's not long," Mark Pavelich, known as Pav, said.

"Maybe not, but it's boring." Pav just gave Bah a look, as if to say it wasn't boring.

"Fine," Bah said. He would tell the story. "My brother couldn't say John when he was little, and it sounded like Bah."

"Man, I thought it was because you look like a sheep," Verchota said, and cracked up laughing at his own joke.

"Like I haven't heard that one before," Bah said, rolling his eyes, while Verchota was still laughing.

"Looks like someone's laughing at their own jokes again," Mac said, walking over to where the three guys were standing with Mark Johnson and Mike Ramsey. "You know what they say about people that laugh at their own jokes, right Verchtota?" Verchota stopped laughing.

"No, what?"

Mac looked confused and then shrugged. "I actually don't know. I just said it because I've heard it before."

Now everyone began laughing.

"What's so funny over here boys?" Buzz Schneider asked walking up to his friends.

"Verchota," Rammer answered.

"Me?" Verchtoa asked. After the laughter died down, Buzz asked them if anyone wanted another beer.

"It's on me, Verchota," Buzz answered when he noticed that Verchota was trying to determine whether he wanted to spend more money. "Consider it a congratulatory gift for making the team."

"Sure, Buzz, as long as it's on you," Verchota said with a big grin. "Thanks."

Pav spoke up next. "Are you sure it's not just because you want to talk to that hot girl over there?" Everyone was silent. "Did I say something wrong?" he then asked.

"No, but I'm married," said Buzz, chuckling a little. "So, I legitimately want to go over there to get another beer."

"Oh, sorry man, I didn't know," Pav said, looking a little guilty.

"That's okay. If you want to get the beers though, feel free," Buzz said, tempting Pav.

"I'll let you," Pav said. "I can always buy her a drink later."

"With the money you're going to save by not buying beer now," Rammer said.

"You got that right," Pav responded.

The guys from Minnesota were all having a good time meeting and getting to know each other, while the guys from the Boston area were having a little more difficulty, because there wasn't as many of them. The table of Boston guys consisted of Rizzo, Silky, and OC, until OC got mad about the '76 playoffs and left. Ralph Cox, also from Massachusetts, who went to New Hampshire for college, also joined that table, being that that was where the regional divide put him. The guys at that table were taking the psychology tests.

"This is so stupid," said Silky, groaning.

"You've already said that Silky, and we've already been over it," reminded Rizzo.

"Why didn't Jimmy come out tonight?" asked Cox.

"He doesn't get out much," replied Silky. "Ever since his mom died…"

"Even before that though, he never really went out. Only occasionally," said Rizzo.

"Yeah, because she was sick," said Silky, needing to get the last word in.

"Well, we should change that," said Cox. "Ya know, get him to come out with us occasionally.

"Anyone want anything?" asked Silky a minute later. "I'm heading up to the bar."

Both Rizzo and Cox replied that they were good and didn't need anything.

"Suit yourselves," Silky said, heading up the bar.

"He's going up there to get that girl," Rizzo told Cox, pointing to a tall blonde girl wearing a fitted shirt and tight jeans that showed off her curves.

"Are you sure?" Cox asked. "I mean, does he go after every girl like that in bars?"

"And everywhere else," smirked Rizzo. "I've known Silky for four years, and he's always been like that. And the girls fall for him every time."

"She _is_ hot," said Cox.

"Yeah she is," agreed Rizzo. "Way out of my league though. Besides I have a girlfriend."

"You do?" asked Cox. Then he covered for his almost surprised tone by saying "I mean, I'm not surprised, I just…you almost seem like the good guy that never gets the girl. So many girls fall for the bad boy like Silky."

"Yeah," Rizzo laughed, and then continued, admitting "My girlfriend went on a date with Silky first."

Cox began laughing. "There has to be a story about that."

"There is." Rizzo laughed again before continuing. "Silky asked her out, knowing that I liked her, and she said yes. He took her out to a really nice restaurant and laid the charm on thick all night. Then he took her back to his room and, well, let's just say they really didn't have the same idea on what they would be doing."

"Oh man," interjected Cox, laughing at the thought.

"She got really mad and left crying. Then I came to the rescue," finished Rizzo with a smile.

"That's great. I'm surprised she didn't use the line, 'All hockey players are the same'."

"She did actually. Before she actually agreed to go out with me, I really had to prove I wasn't like Silky and another guy on our team that she knew from high school." Rizzo took a sip of beer. "It was tough."

"How long have you been together?" asked Cox.

"Eight months."

"Wow, a while then. Is she coming to visit at all?"

"Hopefully. She's trying to get off of work. She just graduated and found a job, so it's a little hard for her to get off right now. She's in real estate."

Silky came back to the table and sat down taking a long swig of beer. It was enough to interrupt conversation.

"No luck?" asked Cox.

"Nah," said Silky. "She's taken."

"That her boyfriend?" asked Rizzo seeing her exact opposite standing next to her. He looked like a professional football player.

"I don't want to talk about it." Rizzo and Coxy just laughed.

"Scary."

"So, how is Pammy doing these days?" Silky asked, knowing they had been talking about Rizzo's girlfriend.

"Silky, you know she hates that."

"Well, she's not here."

"I hate it too. Could you call her Pam? Or Pamela? No one calls her _Pammy_."

"Except for me," said Silky with a smirk.

Rizzo pushed him. "Silk, come on."

"Fine, fine," Silky said, digressing. He only called Pam, 'Pammy,' because she hated it so much. And because it also bothered Rizzo to end and Silky loved how easy it was to annoy Rizzo.

* * *

The morning after packing up, Riley woke up early after having a rough night sleep with the sound of the moving truck pulling up to their house. _Today's the day_, she thought. _The day my life is ruined_. She got dressed and went downstairs, not saying a word to her brother or sister sitting at their kitchen table one last time. Kyle was ten and Erin was seven, and they were talking about moving like it was the best thing ever.

"I'm so excited to see our new house," said Erin.

"Me too. I can't wait to see Uncle Herb, Aunt Patti and Danny and Kelly," Kyle said, also far too enthusiastic. Riley just rolled her eyes, wishing they would stop.

"Riley, aren't you excited?" Erin asked. Riley decided to be bitchy. _After all, I have every right to be_, she thought.

"No. You two are acting like it's great that we're moving. News flash - we are moving to a rural area with nothing to do. We're also moving into an apartment, not a house. So no, I'm not excited." Riley knew she was being nasty, but to her it didn't matter. Especially because her mom, the only person that would actually care how she talked, was outside.

"Riley, you could at least keep an open mind about moving. You don't need to be mean to your brother and sister," her mother said disapprovingly, proving Riley wrong about being out of earshot.

"Whatever," she said indifferently, not really caring what her mother thought.

"Riley," she started in a warning tone, "I really don't need this from you right now."

"And I would like to not move right now, but I guess we can't always get what we want," Riley shot back. She knew her mother wouldn't do anything about it, and she was right – her mother ignored her.

About two hours later, everything was packed and in the moving truck, so Riley went upstairs to get her last few bags to put in the car. Walking upstairs to her room, Riley realized she would never be in this house again, and started to lose it. _I'll never walk up these stairs, or sleep in my room, or sit on the porch with Jenna, or camp out in my backyard._ Tears streamed down Riley's face as she shut her bedroom door, and then sat on the floor. Riley pulled out a folded up piece of paper from her back pocket of her jeans and began to read.

_Dear Riley,_

_I hope you never get this letter, but if you're reading this, it means I've lost my battle. I know it's hard, it's hard for me to write this, but you'll make it through. Take care of things for me - your mom will need help with Kyle and Erin. I know things will be hard at first. Just remember to always go for your dreams and never give up. Live everyday to the fullest and never live with regrets. I'll always be watching over you, so you better make me proud. Even though I won't physically be there to see your graduation, I won't be able to walk you down the aisle, and I'll never meet your kids, I'll be there. I know you think you're strong, but remember, it's okay to cry. I love you so much and you'll always be my little girl._

_Love,_

_Dad_

Reading the letter made Riley start to tear up, just like it always did._ Dad, if you only knew how hard things would actually be_, she thought sadly.

"Riley, are you ready to go?" her mom yelled up the stairs. Quickly, Riley wiped the tears from her eyes, hoping her eyeliner was smudged, and then folded up the letter, sticking it safely back into her pocket. She stood up, took one last look at her room, and turned around to leave. Walking out the front door one last time, Riley hoped that maybe her mother was right for once and Minnesota wouldn't be that bad.

* * *

The family of four arrived in St. Paul late that afternoon. It was different than Riley expected it to be. First of all, they were in what appeared to be the suburbs, not on a farm like she thought. Riley was also impressed that she could occasionally see some skyscrapers in the distance depending on whether or not the view was blocked. That made things a little better, a little more like Chicago, but she still wasn't happy.

Riley's mom had rented an apartment about five minutes away from Uncle Herb ad Aunt Patti's house. She promised it was only until they could find a house. Before they went to the apartment though, they were stopping by their aunt and uncle's house. The moving truck was a few hours behind them, so they had time.

As soon as they pulled in the driveway, Patti came out to greet them, as if she was waiting for them. Kyle and Erin immediately ran out of the car to give their aunt a hug.

"Hi Aunt Patti," Erin said, clearly excited to be there.

"Hi sweetie. Hi Kyle," Patti said to Riley's brother. By this time, her mom had made it out of the car too.

"Hi Mary. How are you doing?" Patti asked, hugging her sister-in-law as well.

"I'm doing okay. Things are starting to get better."

When Riley got out of the car, she noticed her mother whisper something to Patti. She figured it must have been something about her, because Patti looked over.

"Hi Riley."

"Hi Aunt Patti," Riley said, with her best effort to fake a smile. After all, Riley wasn't mean and had no reason to be mad at her aunt, she was just bitter toward her mother and siblings.

Their cousins, Danny and Kelly came outside next, excited to see everyone. The last time the family had been together was at Riley's father's funeral, and even though that was only a month ago, it wasn't the best time to see everyone and enjoy the company.

"Kelly, Danny, why don't you take Kyle and Erin inside and get them something to drink," Patti suggested. Happily obliging, the four kids disappeared into the house.

"Where's Herb?" Mary asked, wondering why her brother hadn't come outside yet.

"You won't see Herb until later this week. He got the job coaching the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, and he's in Colorado for the tryouts."

"Oh, that's wonderful! I bet he's excited," Mary said, as they made their way to the house. Riley always thought the Brook's family relationship was strange. Her mother and Uncle Herb were two years apart in age and despite growing up together were absolutely nothing alike. Riley always thought her mother and Aunt Patti should have been the blood relatives. They talked more that Mary and Herb ever did, and they had so much in common. They could have easily been mistaken for sisters.

Riley walked inside, following her mother and aunt, but drowning out their conversation. The four kids were playing in the family room, having fun.

_Why do they seem so happy to be here?_ Riley thought with bitterness. She still didn't see why they needed to be here. Sure, their family lived here, but when her dad was alive they didn't live near them, so why now? _Maybe because mom continually tries to forget everything that happened. She thinks it would make forgetting easier if we lived near her family instead of dads._

Aunt Patti had offered for Riley's family to live with them for a while, until they could find a house and get settled, but lucky for one thing, Riley's mother declined. _At least she had the decency to rent the apartment, I guess. An apartment will be better than living with four other people aside from my immediate family_. In reality, the apartment was the least of Riley's concerns anyway. The part that sucked most was leaving her friends. Since her dad died, there hadn't been too many people she could talk to, and her friends were the only ones that got her to survive the last month. The truth was, if Riley's dad could come back, she would give up everything and gladly even live in a studio apartment.

Now that her dad was gone though, and they left Chicago, Riley had no one to talk to. _No one seems to understand, _she thought_. My mom definitely doesn't. She almost never mentions dad, and avoids talking about his death like the plague. My brother and sister are too young to completely understand, being only 10 and 7. They just know our dad died, and now we moved where they would be with cousins they loved but rarely got to see._

That night, after they met the moving truck at their apartment and moved everything that they could in, they took the rest to storage and went back to their aunt and uncle's for dinner. The food tasted good, but Riley really wasn't in the mood to eat anything. She wished she could talk to Jenna more than anything, but long distance calls were too expensive.

After dinner Riley's family went back to the apartment. Of course, her mother had something optimistic to say about it.

"This isn't so bad, and it's nothing we can't get used to for the time being." With only one bathroom and two bedrooms, though, Riley thought otherwise.

"Yeah, you're not the one sharing a room," Riley mumbled.

"Riley, cut the attitude. This is hard for everyone. And the apartment is only a temporary thing," Mark snapped. Riley rolled her eyes. She knew that until her mother found a house, she would have to survive very close living quarters with her family. And at times like this when a fight was brewing, which was much more frequently recently, Riley wouldn't even have a place to go cool down.

The next two days were not much better. Riley spent her time walking around town and hanging out at her aunt and uncle's house. It proved to be the most boring two days of her entire life thus far.

_If this is how my life is going to be, I may as well shoot myself,_ Riley thought dryly one afternoon, watching cartoons with her siblings and cousins. Her mom was out house hunting, and now Riley wished she would have gone. Although, being with her mom for an extended period wasn't something she desired to do. And, since she opted to stay back and Aunt Patti went instead, that meant that unfortunately, Riley was stuck watching the kids. She wished more than anything that something exciting would happen. Just when she was thinking she couldn't take anymore of the stupid cartoons, the front door opened.

"Hey everyone," Herb said, dropping his suitcase by his feet. Within seconds, the TV was forgotten as all four younger kids ran over to greet him. Riley got up too, wanting to say hi.

Riley was surprised to even see Uncle Herb today, because Patti said he wouldn't be home until Friday. She soon found out that Herb picked the team early, and the guys were coming to Minnesota to practice sooner than expected.

_Maybe I'll get to meet them, _Riley secretly hoped, knowing they were college aged guys, and probably hot. She'd seen enough hockey players in her day to know the typical type.

Following Herb into the kitchen he asked, "How have you been doing, Riley?"

"I've been okay. It's just hard with everything changing right now," she answered.

"Yeah, especially leaving your friends right before your senior year."

"Yeah," she agreed.

"I heard you don't want to finish high school here," Herb said. Riley nodded her head, wondering where Herb was going with this. "Well, it would probably be better for you to be doing something. It'll probably get boring sitting around all day."

"Yeah, but changing schools is too hard. I'll probably just get my GED or something. I don't know." The truth was, Riley did know, and had a plan set. She hated school to begin with and the thought of changing schools and having no friends was even worse. The day after Riley found out her mom was making the move to Minnesota, Riley threatened to leave and never come back. The runaway threat was all talk, because Riley would have never really left, but her mom thought she was serious. Their fight ended with Riley's mother almost crying, and begging her not to leave, promising she wouldn't have to finish high school in Minnesota. Riley knew her mom would keep her promise, because she was so desperate, and Riley decided she would get her GED and find a job. Riley didn't know why her mother cared so much though. Most parents would call their kid's bluff before giving in, but after Dan died, nothing Riley's mom did was predictable or normal.

"You have always been pretty stubborn," Herb continued. "But you know, you wouldn't have to go to school to do something with your time."

"I don't know anyone here to hang out with though." Riley said, still unsure where Herb was going with this conversation. If it was supposed to make her feel better, it wasn't working too well.

"If you're interested in working at all, I could use some help with the team. I know you love hockey." She smiled at the thought of helping with the Olympic team.

"Uncle Herb, that would be amazing. I'd love too," Riley said, with a real smile lighting her face for the first time since she got to Minnesota.

"Okay. You can come with me to the rink tomorrow then."

A few minutes later, it dawned on Riley that helping out with the team meant she would be surrounded by guys all day. _Maybe Minnesota wouldn't be so bad after all, _she thought hopeful.

* * *

Later that night, Riley got even more exciting news. Herb said that since she was helping with the team, he thought it would be best if she stayed in their guest room. That way, Herb wouldn't have to pick her up every day for practice. To Riley, that meant she wouldn't have to be cramped in the tiny apartment with her family anymore. And Riley would have to be with her mom constantly. Luckily, Riley's mom agreed, with some convincing on Herb's part of course.

Although Riley would be helping out with the team, and she got to stay at Herb's house, things were far from perfect. Later that night, she was bored to tears sitting at the house. No matter what, she knew she could never, and would never, call Minnesota her home. Even if she grew to like it, it wouldn't be the same as her little suburban town of Skokie. Ever.

Finally, because Riley was so incredibly bored, she decided to go out for some ice cream. It wasn't a far walk from the house, so she left and told everyone she'd be back later. _Not that anyone cares anyway, _she thought_._

Tiffany's Sweets was pretty crowded with mostly teenagers. Riley got a hot fudge sundae and sat in a booth by herself, trying not to look like a loser for being alone. It didn't take long for people to notice her though. A group of guys that looked about high school aged walked over and crowded around Riley's table.

"Hey, I don't think I've seen you around here before," one of the guys said. He looked like he was from the boondocks with his straggly long hair, facial stubble, and plaid shirt. _At least he's not wearing overalls_, Riley thought. _But can't he afford a razor, or a comb?_

"I just moved here," Riley said, incredulously. _How in the world did they know I was new here_, she wondered. _Oh yeah, everyone knows everyone else in small towns like this,_ she thought dryly.

As if the guys could read her thoughts, the one said, "We know you're new because Tiffany's is the local hang out. Everyone that lives in Bloomington comes here at some point."

"Especially teens," another guy added.

"Are you going to Jefferson or JFK?" a third guy asked.

Riley gave them a questioning look.

"High school – Bloomington Jefferson High or Bloomington Kennedy High?"

"Or are you going to a private school?" another guy asked, gauging from her expression that she didn't know what they were talking about.

Riley wanted to laugh at their interest in her, but held back. _These guys are weird_, she thought. _I'm glad I'm not going to school with them. _

"I'm actually done with high school," Riley said.

"Oh wow, you're in college then. I didn't realize…" the one guy said, speaking for all of them and trailing off.

"Yeah," Riley continued with her lie. "I'm older than I look."

"Where are you going to college?"

Riley sighed and took a bite of her melting ice cream. She thought they would have left by now. "I'm not yet. I'm helping my uncle with a hockey team."

"I heard the Olympic team was practicing here. It's not for that team is it?"

"They would get guys to help with that. Girls don't know enough about hockey," one of the other guys commented.

Riley heard this comment and snapped. "Actually, it does happen to be for the Olympic team. And I do know a lot about hockey. Probably more than you if I had to bet. Now, do you mind – I'd like to finish this before it's ice cream soup," Riley said, waving the guys away. The guys left, but didn't stop glancing over to her table every minute or so.

Riley quickly finished her ice cream and left the shop, giving the guys a death stare as she left. She hated it in Minnesota, hated the people, and wished like hell she could go back to Skokie.


	3. Chapter 2: Boys, Boys, Boys

dogdaysareover: Thanks! I'm really glad you like Riley and how I've written her. Sometimes it's tough to develop a character really well, so hearing you like how she's written means a lot. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

NellieBly413672: I'm glad you liked the chapter and how I introduced the guys. Riley meets the guys in this chapter, and there's a lot more of her and the guys to come, lol. Some upcoming parts in the next few chapters will be _really_ interesting.

Peachy65: Glad you like it so far. I try to keep my stories as close to reality as possible, while keeping the story still based on the movie version of events along with introducing other characters, if that makes sense, lol.

LTJM: I'm glad you like it so far and like how I've written Riley! Out of all of my stories so far, Riley is definitely the hardest character to write and develop, so your feedback means a lot! Thanks again and enjoy the chapter.

A/N: Thanks again to everyone for the great comments so far and thanks to those who haven't commented for reading anyway. Seeing that people are enjoying the story is great motivation! Unfortunately for all of you, my next chapter won't be up until July 7th because I am going to Europe and won't be home until then. It is already finished though, so you can expect it up as soon as I get home. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. This one and the next were the hardest to write so far because I wanted to get in Riley's thoughts and impressions as well as the guys. It's _really_ important to the story to know that the guy's see Riley differently than she thinks they see her. Hopefully I did a good job in getting that point across… anyway, here it is.

**Chapter 2: Boys, Boys, Boys**

The morning after Herb asked Riley to help with the team, she was at the rink bright and early. The team practice wasn't set to begin for over an hour, but Herb needed to do some paperwork before hand, so he was off to his office with Riley following. On their way upstairs, Riley met a few people on the staff, including Craig Patrick and Doc. She liked them both and hoped that the team would be just as friendly.

There wasn't too much for Riley to do waiting for the practice to begin, but it definitely beat sitting at home. Five minutes before practice, Herb was finally finished and ready to make his way down to the ice. To Riley's disappointment, he showed her to the stands without introducing her to the team. She was really hoping to meet everyone. _Maybe later,_ she thought. _I'll have to meet them eventually._ Riley found just watching the practice pretty interesting. Of course, it was mainly the guys she was interested in watching.

Although it was fun at first, going on the two hour mark, Riley began getting bored. There were only so many hockey drills she could stand watching. Shortly after a line change, Riley saw someone body check another guy hard, knocking him down. _Now things are getting exciting_, Riley thought. A fight began, as she suspected, and Herb made a comment about "two monkeys trying to hump a football." Stifling a laugh at this, Riley thought, _Where does he come up with those sayings?_

One of the guys noticed her laughing, because he looked at her and smiled. Or maybe he was just smiling at Herb's comment and happened to be facing the stands. Riley thought she would go with her first option. From what Riley could tell, the guy was pretty cute too, which was a plus.

After a few introductions guided by Herb, Riley found out that the two guys fighting were Jack O'Callahan and Rob McClanahan. Since they were from two different schools, she had no idea what Jack had against Robbie, and thought, _A__pparently, Jack's just a jerk_.

After the team skated some more, the guys were dismissed. Riley went downstairs to find her uncle busy talking to a player. She waited patiently, giving them some distance. Herb noticed her standing there a minute later, and introduced the guy with him.

"Riley, this is Jimmy Craig. Jim, this is my niece, Riley. She'll be with us from now on, helping out."

Riley shook Jimmy's hand, noticing his good looks immediately. _If all of the guys look this good in person, I'm in trouble, _Riley thought. In Riley's seventeen years, she had one boyfriend, and it only lasted two months.

Riley started dating Chris just before her dad was diagnosed, and right after that Chris broke up with her. He told Riley it was because she "_wasn't fun anymore"_ and Riley knew that translated into "because you wouldn't sleep with me". (Little did Riley know that Chris actually meant that she wasn't fun to be around anymore after she found out about her dad's illness.)

After her dad died, Riley tried to get back together with Chris. She wanted someone, needed someone, to take away the pain and make her feel good again. Riley was ready to go to the next level and offered Chris _everything,_ but he didn't want her. He told her that she _"turned into a complete bitch to everyone,"_ which Riley knew wasn't true. Chris didn't want anything to do with her and Riley knew right then that he wasn't worth her time.

So after only dating Chris, Riley knew she was ready for a_ real_ relationship. A mature relationship with a guy that would treat her like a princess and wouldn't act like a complete jerk. She deserved that much, needed that much. _These cute, older guys are definitely a good way to start,_ Riley thought, bringing her back to the cute guy in front of her.

Herb said he had to take care of a few things in his office, and left the two standing in the hallway.

"So, Herb's niece," Jimmy said in his Boston accent with a friendly smile showing on his face. "Is he as bad away from hockey as he is at practice?" he asked to try to make friendly conversation.

"Yeah, pretty much," Riley said smiling back. He really wasn't, at least from what she could tell, but agreeing was easier in this case.

"So do you know many of the guys on the team?" Jimmy asked. He figured that maybe Riley had helped out with Herb's team at the U.

"Nope," Riley replied. "You're the first I've met. I actually not from around here – I just moved from Chicago."

"Oh, are you going to school here next year?" Jimmy asked, thinking Riley looked like she was probably a junior or senior in high school. There was no way she was older than about 17. Behind the aura of confidence glowing around Riley, Jimmy could see an innocent child. Her bright, rich, red hair hanging down in wavy layers to her shoulders gave off an older look, but the freckles that dotted her face across her cheeks and nose made her look younger. Riley's bright green eyes and smile also gave off a mature, confident look, but Jimmy noticed a hint of dusky green to brown sadness in them. He knew this telltale sign of sadness from his own experiences. Anyone could see the effect of losing his mom in his eyes alone, a sadness that could only be masked by a true smile. Jimmy instantly wondered what Riley's story was. At only a couple inches over five feet, if Jimmy had to guess, he felt like he towered over Riley's small stature and petite frame. Jimmy thought Riley's confidence was amazing, because she didn't appear to be intimidated by him at all, but he could also tell she was covering up her innocence of adolescence well.

When Jimmy asked whether Riley was going to school next year, she incorrectly assumed he meant college, and answered, "No, I'm supposed to be in my senior year of high school, but I might just get my GED or something. Starting at a new school senior year isn't a thrilling prospect." Riley really hoped he would stop asking questions because she wasn't ready to share her life story with some guy she just met - as cute as he was.

"Okay," Jimmy replied, feeling uncomfortable asking anymore questions. "The team is gonna go out tonight, to some bar or something, if you want to go. That way, you can get to know the guys," he offered. Jimmy knew Riley was probably too young to get in, but he figured the offer would be nice.

After Riley explained she would love to but didn't have a car, not mentioning the fact that she was too young, Jimmy said that someone would be by to pick her up at seven. After finalizing the details, Riley then went to find her uncle, and Jimmy was left standing in the hallway, thinking about what had just transpired. Riley didn't seem at all concerned about being underage. Jimmy though it seemed like she was trying to pretend she was his age or something. At least most bars were pretty easy to get into though. In Boston, Jimmy knew they hardly ever asked for id to get in.

As Riley walked to Herb's office, she had to hold back her desire to skip, because she was very excited for her plans that night. _I have to call Jenna and tell her everything! She'll be so excited for me but so jealous,_ Riley thought, thinking about her best friend. She then remembered she couldn't call Jenna, and her happiness turned into disappointment.

_Come on, Riley,_ she told herself. _Don't let thinking about that ruin tonight._ Riley turned her thoughts to something else. The bars in Minnesota. She hoped they were easy to get into underage. In Chicago, no one asked for id to get in. The bartender there wasn't even asking everyone for ids when getting drinks, and Riley hoped it was the same here. _Getting turned away at the door with college guys getting in would suck, _she thought_._

* * *

When Riley and Herb arrived at the Brook's house later that afternoon, Riley's mom was also there after a long day looking at houses. When Riley mentioned about hanging out at a bar with the guys, her mom was less than thrilled.

"You don't even know them. And they're what – at least four years older than you? I don't think hanging out with them is a good idea. And you're seventeen – how will you even get into the bar?"

Riley sighed. Her mom always did this. Anything that Riley wanted to do was too dangerous or a bad idea. Mary always said no at first, before eventually giving in. She gave in quickly these days though, usually because Riley would make a threat or make reference to her dad, ending all conversation.

Riley didn't see what the big deal was anyway. She wasn't going to do anything stupid, so she didn't know what her mom's problem was. Riley then tried explaining that she needed to get to know the guys to work with them, but it was no use. Mary said again that it was a bad idea. _Is she trying to ruin my life?_ Riley thought, and then thought, _I guess it's time to bring up dad…_

Before Riley had to use her well practiced routine though, Herb stepped in and convinced Mary to let Riley go. He knew at least some of the guys were responsible and would watch out for Riley. Herb also knew that the guys were too smart to try anything stupid. The Olympics meant a lot to them. Mary reluctantly approved after Herb ensured her it was fine.

Little did Mary know, Riley had already planned on going anyway. Approval or no approval. After all, Riley was living in Herb's house, not her mother's. _It isn't up to my mother what I do anymore,_ Riley thought bitterly, not bothering to thank her mother for the permission.

* * *

In the meantime, the guys were getting ready to go out. For most, this entailed sitting in their rooms and watching TV until five minutes before they were ready to leave. As the guys made their way down to the parking lot, they discussed who would drive – the main issue for the night.

The bar that they were going to was well within walking distance, but few guys actually wanted to walk.

"Why bother walking when we have cars? Besides, today was a long practice and my legs need the rest," OC commented.

"You legs can't _actually_ be tired?" Pav wondered, thinking that if OC's legs were tired now, he was in for a long seven months. Pav imagined the practices only getting harder as time went on.

"Maybe he wants to save some energy for later," Bah commented with a smirk.

"Maybe he wants to save some energy for _tomorrow_," Rizzo countered.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing," Silky started. "OC doesn't need to save energy. He has incredible stamina."

"Okay, I know from your twisted smile you meant that to sound dirty, but it just sounded really, really wrong," Bah said, laughing.

"You're the one with your mind in the gutter," Silky said. Then Silky explained his joke. "His room was next to mine at BU. Let's just say the walls were thin. Maybe he asked Rizzo to leave the room, but it would have been considerate to ask his neighbor to leave too." This made a bunch of guys laugh. Then Silky added, "I cannot count the number of times I was woken up…per night."

"All right, all right," OC said, pushing Silky in the arm. "I could probably say worse about you, but I think the Minnesotans might take offense to the vulgarity of the jokes." No one except Silky laughed at OC's poor attempt to make fun of the guys from Minnesota.

Just then, and Verchota came running out of the building. "DD - not it!" Verchota said, putting a finger to his nose.

"What are we now, five?" Rammer asked, laughing at their childish game.

"Well, if I'm five, then you're like one," Verchota said, making fun of Rammer's status as the 'baby' of the team. Now Mac also had a finger on his nose. OC rolled his eyes.

The guys had a few cars at their disposal, but trying to pick DD's was like pulling teeth. Everyone promised to take a turn, but no one wanted that night's duty. It was finally decided that Bah and Rammer were driving, but OC's suggestion of Rizzo fell through because he drove the Boston guys the night before. The previous night, the guys from Boston wanted to take a drive around the area to get to know St. Paul. They also needed to find a store to stock up on much needed food.

"I'll drive," Jimmy then offered, walking up to the group of guys in the middle of arguing who would drive car number three.

"Good, third driver. Let's go," said OC.

"I can only take three though. I need to leave the last seat open for Herb's niece."

"Herb has a niece?" Silky asked.

"Yeah. I met her today and invited her with us. She was the red head sitting in the stands today."

"I didn't see anyone," Bah said, shrugging. Silky shrugged too. He couldn't remember anyone either.

"Is she hot?" Verchota asked.

Jimmy just gave Verchota a look, and then said, "She's like, young. High school age."

"So? Is she hot?"

"No."

"Oh," Verchota said, sounding disappointed.

"Is that all you think about, Verchota?" Mark Johnson asked. Verchota shrugged. A few guys laughed.

"Let's get this show on the road," Silky said. "Although I still don't know why we're going out so early," he added, mainly making the comment to OC.

"Must be a Minnesota thing," OC said. In Boston, the guys would never go out before ten, and usually it was even later than that.

"Maybe it's because we have to be on the ice at nine A.M," Bah said, having heard the comment.

"Aww, you Minnesota boys need your sleep?" OC joked.

"We just like how comfortable the hay is," Bah joked right back, finally taking one of OC's less than tactful Minnesota hick jokes and turning it around.

"Touché," OC said, complimenting his teammate.

"Where do you think the expression 'hit the hay' developed?" Bah continued.

"Quit while you're ahead, buddy," OC said.

Bah shrugged and said to himself, "I thought it was pretty good."

Everyone that could then piled in cars, with the rest left to walk, and the guys were on their way.

* * *

At five after seven, Jimmy's car pulled in the Brook's driveway and Riley went outside to be greeted by Jimmy and three other guys. Riley thought the one guy looked like the one that smiled at her earlier on the ice. She only recognized him because he was smiling at her again now with the same almost smirky, 'I'm up to something,' grin. He introduced himself as Dave Silk. The other two she met were Jack, the hot head that body checked the other guy earlier, and Mike Eruzione.

The car ride to the bar from Herb's was only about ten minutes, so the five didn't get to talk that much. Riley noticed that OC wasn't that social, while Silky was overly outgoing. Jimmy was sort of quiet, but Riley figured it was because he was concentrating on the road. Rizzo wasn't quiet, but not nearly as outgoing as Silky.

"So you're here helping Herb out?" Rizzo asked, turning around from the front seat to direct his question to Riley.

"Yeah, I'll be doing the shit no one else wants to do," said Riley. "Paperwork stuff, maybe getting stuff ready for practices, games, I don't really know yet."

"The shit no one else wants to do," Silky repeated with a smirk, wondering why she said that.

"Yeah," Riley said, smiling and looking over to Silky. "Not that I mind, but it's true."

"Do you _actually_ know anything about hockey?" asked OC, speaking for the first time since Riley got in the car. He looked at her seriously, like it was a legitimate question.

"Uh, yeah," she replied, as if there was no other possible answer to the question. "Lots. I've been around hockey my whole life." Riley's tone was full of attitude, and she thought OC was being a jerk for even asking.

"Okay," OC said, almost as if he didn't believe her. OC's tone was actually because he thought Riley could cut the attitude. He didn't need a kid giving him shit. Herb seemed to be bad enough. If Riley continued, it would be a long seven months of practice.

Riley didn't notice the look that Rizzo and Jimmy shared from the front seat at this point. Rizzo was silently wondering why Jimmy brought Riley along. She seemed like she had an attitude problem or something. Jimmy just shrugged as if telling Rizzo that he had no idea why he invited her. When he first met Riley he thought she seemed okay.

For the remainder of the short car ride, the guys began talking about a bar near BU that the guys hung out at during hockey season, after OC brought it up. Rizzo glanced to the back seat at OC, and the look OC gave Rizzo said he brought it up because he didn't want Riley to be a part of the conversation.

Once they got to the bar, Riley met most of the rest of the team. Everyone introduced themselves with their nicknames, and Riley wondered whether she would be able to remember all of them. After saying hi, the guys went right back talking to the people they were talking to before, and in a way it seemed like they were ignoring Riley's presence.

As everyone grabbed a seat, Riley went to the table with Mac, Silky, Jimmy, and Bah mainly because Jimmy was the only guy Riley felt she knew, and Silky had a cute smile. OC and Rizzo were sitting at another table because OC couldn't stand Mac, and those two were with other guys Riley hadn't met yet. Riley still had no idea why OC hated Mac so much because he seemed like a nice enough guy. Not that she knew him that well though. She only knew him from listening to part of his conversation with his teammates.

Bah went up to the bar to get a pitcher of beer just after they say down, and came back with a full pitcher and a stack of glasses. Riley noticed there was a glass for everyone. Before Riley could say that she didn't want any, Bah handed her a full glass.

_Well, I guess they know I'm here,_ thought Riley. She took the glass reluctantly. Riley had tried beer once when she was fifteen, but hated it so much she vowed to never drink it again. She pretty much stayed away from drinking anyway, but at a party three weeks before, the same night the Chris slighted her, she tried vodka developed quite a taste for it.

_Oh well_, she thought about the beer, _one glass won't kill me_. She took a sip and was surprised by the bitter taste. _It tastes even worse than I remember. How will I ever finish this glass?_ She wondered. After ten minutes, some of the guys were ready for round two, but Riley still had an almost full glass. She decided to keep drinking really slowly so no one would notice when she didn't need a refill.

For a while the guys talked about hockey and the team. Riley wasn't sure it was whether they were trying to include her or they were just talking about the team because they all had that much in common. Riley wished the guys would pay a little more attention to her. After their hockey conversation turned dry, a few guys, including guys from the table OC and Rizzo were at, took turns playing pool and foosball. A few pitchers of beer into the night, the guy's conversation turned to girls, and Riley was sure they forgot she was there. She stared into her glass that was still half full not paying attention to the guys until Silky turned to ask Riley a question.

"So Riley, are you really only in high school?"

"Uh, yeah, sort of," Riley said, now wishing they had really forgotten she was there. She hated people asking about her life. She didn't want to talk about her life.

"If you're in high school you must be pretty young then," Silky said, smirking and ignoring the "sort of" and going with the "yeah".

"Not really. I'm 17," Riley said thinking she wasn't young at all.

"Damn," he said sounding somewhat disappointed.

"Why?" Riley asked, now pretty amused. It sounded like Silky was upset she was 17.

"Because that means you're a minor." Riley wasn't sure why he brought that up, it

wasn't like she needed to buy drinks anyway. Before she said anything he added, "And you're really hot." With this comment, all Riley could do was blush. It wasn't everyday a

guy with Silky's looks said she was hot. Actually, it never happened before. Chris never even said Riley was 'really hot'.

"Riley, don't believe a word Silky says. He's just trying to get in your pants," Bah said, laughing, but completely serious. Even though the guys had only known each other for a few days, they already knew Silky's tricks really well.

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Riley said before even realizing what was coming out of her mouth. _What in the world possessed me to say that? _She wondered. As outgoing as she could be, it really wasn't like her to be so forward and say something like that. Not that she regretted it though. Silky was hot, and Riley wanted an older, more mature guy. Riley knew what older, more mature guys wanted.

"Oh, so you're one of _those_ girls," Silky commented.

"_Those_ girls?" she asked.

"Yeah, _those_ girls," he responded, smiling. Riley still sort of wondered what he meant, though she had a pretty good clue. Luckily, Rizzo came over to the table before Riley hadthe chance to say anything else. She didn't know exactly how to respond to that either.

Riley then noticed OC by himself at the bar getting drinks, she decided to go over and ask him what was going on between him and Mac.

"Hey, OC," Riley said, walking up next to him.

"Hey," he said with little enthusiasm.

"So why won't you sit with us?"

"You mean, why won't I sit with Mac, right?"

"Yeah," Riley admitted.

"Because I may end up doing something I regret."

"Why's that?"

"Because I don't like him," OC said flatly, as if he wanted to the conversation to be over.

"Well, won't you have to get over it eventually?" Riley asked. OC sensed attitude, again.

"Not if I can help it," he responded.

"Oh," Riley answered.

"So why are you here anyway?"

"I told you already," Riley said, getting impatient.

"No, you said that you were helping Herb do the 'shit no one else wants to'," OC said, giving Riley attitude right back. "I mean, why are you _here_, at this bar?"

"Jimmy invited me."

"So? You're too much younger than us. You shouldn't be trying to hang out with us. Why are you even helping with the team? Shouldn't you be selling girl scout cookies or something?" he asked rudely.

_I can't believe he just said that! _Riley thought, fuming on the inside. _What does he think I am, twelve? No wonder he and Mac don't get along. In fact, I'm surprised he has any friends!_

"Excuse me? Girl scout cookies?" Riley said, speaking her thoughts. "I'm seventeen, not twelve. And what, you guys are only about twenty-two or so, right? That's only a five year age difference. I don't think -"

"Only? Only five years? Do you have any idea how much someone can grow up in five years? We're done with college - you're not even done with high school."

"Well, I'm very mature for my age," Riley said, defending herself.

"Whatever. But it's not just about maturity level. It's about life experiences."

"I've gone through a lot of experiences in my life," Riley shot back. OC thought her statement itself sounded somewhat naïve. Naïve and very vague.

"Have you ever stayed out all night? Been drunk? Had sex?" OC asked with a smirk, challenging the teenager.

"Yes," Riley said. Of course, she was partially or completely lying about all three, but OC didn't have to know that.

"All three?" he asked in disbelief.

"Uh, yeah," Riley answered in a 'who hasn't?' tone.

"Okay, sure," OC said, walking away, before Riley could get another word in.

_God, he's a jerk, _Riley thought, walking back over to the table she was sitting at earlier. Before she could even sit down, Bah begged her to play foosball with him, Rammer, and Mark Johnson. Riley hesitantly agreed, knowing she absolutely sucked at foosball. She wished they had asked her to play darts instead. Then she wouldn't look like a complete loser.

Bah hadn't actually asked Riley to play because he wanted her to, but because he noticed Riley storming over after OC, and he figured OC might have set her off about something. It was easy to see that the two wouldn't be getting along. They both seemed stubborn and neither seemed to hesitate saying exactly what was on their minds.

For the rest of the night, Riley had a lot of fun. She thought the guys seemed to be opening up to her more and treating her more like she wasn't just a seventeen year old tagging along, or the coach's niece, but like they actually wanted to get to know her. It was really nice, especially because Riley wanted to become friends with them so Minnesota wouldn't be completely bad. Riley sort of wondered why they were suddenly different around her, and thought, _Maybe it was my comment to Silky_. _I'm sure that's what girls their age would say. After all, they are done with college and I'm only in high school. If I want to be treated like I'm their age, I better start acting like it._

Riley didn't know that the guys were only opening up more because they were getting a little drunk. In reality, the many of the guys didn't know how to act around Riley. After all, she was only seventeen, and most thought it was weird that she was trying to hang out with them. Most knew it was partly Jimmy's fault because he invited her, but Riley seemed to be under the impression that _wanted_ her there. A couple guys felt sorry for her, because from her personality, it seemed like Riley would have trouble making friends.

When Jimmy dropped Riley off later, she realized it was pretty late because the house was really quiet and most of the lights were out. She presumed the sole light on in Herb's office meant that he was the only one still up. Walking by the open office door, Riley noticed he was looking at a piece of paper on his desk, and seemed to be in another world. He didn't glance up once.

Ten minutes later, Riley was lying in her new bed, trying to get comfortable, which proved to be difficult because of the hard, barely used mattress. Thinking about the day and the guys she had met, Riley realized Minnesota wasn't as bad as she originally thought. It still wasn't anything she wanted to get used to though. As soon as the Olympics were over, Riley had every intention of going back to Skokie.


	4. Chapter 3: Getting to Know You

dogdaysareover: Thanks, glad you liked Riley's interaction with the guys. There will be lots more to come.

NellieBly413672: I'm glad you liked the interaction between Riley and the guys and how I wrote their different opinions. Thanks for the review!

LTJM: Thanks so much for the review! Glad you liked it.

A/N: Well, I'm back from Europe and I had a blast! As promised, here's the next chapter. The character, Emma, that's introduced at the end of the chapter will become a bigger part of the story in upcoming chapters. Anyway, please read and review!

**Chapter 3: Getting to Know You**

The morning after Riley's fun night meeting the guys, she woke up early again to go to the rink. Although it was early, she was actually late waking up, so she had to get ready fast. She didn't want to see the side of Herb the guys saw if she was late or something.

When Riley arrived at the rink, Herb went right upstairs while Riley headed toward the ice. Nearing the locker room, she noticed a few guys walking in that she remembered meeting the previous night. Although Riley was still learning names, she knew they were from Minnesota. There were too many names to remember all at once.

"Hey guys," she said, walking up behind them.

"Hey Riley," the guy who Riley thought she remembered as Bah, answered. "How are you this morning?"

"Pretty good," she answered.

"I'm surprised you're not feeling last night," Bah commented, thinking she had quite a bit to drink. "I guess you're not a light weight. Well anyway, see you after practice," he said with a shrug, then walked into the locker room with his friends. Bah knew a lot of the guys had opinions one way or another about Riley, but he didn't feel he knew her well enough to form an opinion. Either way, he didn't want to ignore her. She was helping with the team, and whether he liked her or not, he still felt he had to treat her amiably.

_If you only knew,_ Riley thought about Bah's previous comment. She was just glad her plan to not let the guys notice her lack of drinking worked.

* * *

In the middle of practice when the guys were doing suicides, which Riley noticed they had already renamed "Herbies," Herb called her down to join him on the ice.

"I could use your help on the ice. There are skates in the locker room that should fit you. Riley's face lit up at the thought of helping on the ice, and practically sprinted to the locker room to get the skates. She returned minutes later, ready to go. Riley hadn't skated in a while, and she just hoped she wasn't too rusty.

"Riley, put these cones on the ice," Herb told her, handing her orange parking cones. "Just stagger them around wherever."

_Wherever? _She thought, but didn't argue. What Herb said went. Riley took the cones and started putting them around the ice, guessing it was for some kind of drill. Herb was explaining something to the guys while Riley was putting the cones out.

The guys started the drill, and Riley got really confused watching them. She had no idea what they were doing. At times, she almost thought the guys didn't have much of a clue either.

After they were done skating around the cones, sort of chasing each other, Herb had Riley pick the cones up, while he explained to the team what was going to happen next. Riley was a little upset that Herb only wanted her on the ice to move cones around. _This isn't what I signed up for_, she thought. _Well, at least I'm on skates. I'll give the guys something to talk about_.

With that thought, Riley picked up the last of the cones and did a twirl. When she saw two of the guys she didn't know yet looking over at her, she continued with her stunts and tried more.

Riley grabbed a stick from the bench and started moving a puck around the ice. She pulled off a few moves, trying to impress the growing number of people watching her now. Riley noticed at least six pairs of eyes on her, instead of paying attention to Herb. _Now for my next move. This will be interesting_. One time, she was at a Blackhawks game and saw a player skate with the puck, stop it, then jump over it and pull it from behind to keep skating with it. She never tried it, but she knew it would look really cool, and she figured it couldn't be that hard.

It was a lot harder than Riley thought though, instead of jumping over the puck, she ended up stepping on the puck and tripping. She couldn't catch herself, and fell flat on the ice.

The guys that had been watching her snickered, and now everyone's eyes were on her because the fall was loud.

Even worse, she pissed off Herb. "Riley – bench. NOW!"

Riley picked herself up off the ice, along with the stick and puck. As she skated to the bench, Herb made another comment.

"If you're not mature enough to handle being on the ice without disrupting my practice, you won't be on the ice at all."

"I_ fell_," Riley said, with a slight attitude.

"Because you were fooling around," Herb stated sternly.

_How did he know?_ Riley thought to herself.

"I have eyes in the back of my head," Herb said, almost as if he had heard her.

Riley sulked on the bench for the rest of practice. _What am I, five?_ Riley wondered. _Not only did I make a fool out of myself, but I proceeded to get embarrassed and yelled at by my uncle. As if falling wasn't bad enough._

As soon as practice was over, Herb called Riley to his office, and Riley knew he was going to talk to her more about what happened earlier. She reluctantly followed him, not really caring what he had to say. _It's not like I would do it again, even without Herb calling me out in front of 26 guys, it was embarrassing enough falling._

* * *

Locker room after practice...

"So, what do you think of Riley?" Mac asked Bah.

"Other than being a show-off?" Bah joked, then continued, "She's definitely got a mouth on her. Now I know what OC meant when he said 'attitude problem'."

"Yeah," Mac said in agreement. "But I think all teens are mouthy."

"To their parents," Bah said. "I never talked back to anyone else in my family. And I would never think of giving attitude to people I didn't know, unless they really deserved it."

"Are you guys talking about Riley?" Silky asked, joining in their conversation.

"Yeah."

"Isn't she hot?" Silky asked.

"That's what I was thinking," agreed Mac.

"Hey, I saw her first," argued Silky.

"Whatever. Whoever can ask her out first is ahead."

"Not in my book," said Silky. "You asking her out, and her saying yes, won't stop me."

"Guys, Riley is _seventeen_," Bah reminded them.

"And she's _not_ hot," added Buzz, who had been listening.

"No, she's not," added Bah. "Maybe sort of pretty, for a seventeen year old kid, but not hot."

"That's the reason she's so hot," commented Silky, like it was obvious and needed no further explanation.

"What? That she's not hot?" asked Buzz, confused.

"No, that she's a kid," he said. Then he added, "Think about it. Anyone of us guys that tells her she's hot, is bound to get some. After all, she's young and naive."

"Yeah, Riley wouldn't know the difference. Guys like us, telling her she's hot… she won't be able to resist," said Mac, smiling. Then he continued. "But, for the record, I do think she's hot."

"Yeah, you would," said Buzz. "I mean, who is it that hasn't got laid in over a year? Right now, you'd think a wooly mammoth has potential."

"Sure, make jokes. But I have been laid in the last year. I don't remember her name, but I do remember it was good."

"Obviously only for you. Cause I don't think she called back, did she?" Broten called out, laughing. The other guys nearby joined in laughing while Mac playfully pushed Broten back into the lockers.

Interrupting the guys from their conversation about Riley was Rizzo. "Hey guys. We have five minutes before we need to be upstairs for the meeting," he said, reminding them of the post practice team meeting.

"Thanks mom," Silky said, sarcastically, as he went back to his locker to grab his shirt.

* * *

The guys went to their hour long meeting, which was uneventful and boring as usual. Coach Patrick promised the meetings would get better when they began games and were able to watch game films. None of the guys really believed him though. Meetings were meetings and the definition of meetings was boring.

While the guys were walking back to the locker room afterward, Mac noticed a familiar looking red head on the treadmill in the weight room. He stopped at the window to watch for a minute. She was wearing a tight fitting blue racer back work out shirt with really short grey shorts.

"Whatcha looking at buddy?" Buzz asked walking up behind Mac. He followed Mac's eyes over to Riley. "Oooohh," Buzz said, in an understanding.

"You want that piece of ass?" Silky said, also noticing what Mac was looking at. "Good luck." Silky paused for a minute, then continued saying, "I don't think you have a chance." Before Mac could respond, Silky walked away toward the locker room to grab his stuff.

Mac was pissed at Silky when he got back to the locker room. He was also still trying to get someone else to admit Riley was hot, so he started a survey of everyone in the locker room.

"Hey Jimmy. Do you think Riley's hot?"

"No," he responded flatly.

"Rizzo, do you?"

"She's seventeen."

"So, the question was – do you think she's hot?"

"It's illegal," Rizzo said, as if Mac needed a reminder.

"I'm not asking if you want to sleep with her. Thinking she's hot is not illegal!"

"Well, she's not hot."

"Come on, she has red hair!" Mac said. "One of you Irish guys needs to think she's hot."

"I'm not Irish, I'm Italian," Rizzo exasperated.

"Whatever. You're from Boston, it's all the same," Mac said and shrugged. Rizzo rolled his eyes. "What about you, OC?" Mac continued, even though he knew OC wouldn't want to talk to him. Although surprisingly, OC did answer.

"I hate red heads almost as much as I hate Minnesotans," he said, making a bunch of the guys laugh. Mac was trying to determine if OC was serious, but decided he was being sarcastic. Mac turned to another group of guys to ask them about Riley.

"Why do you hate Riley so much, OC?" Rizzo asked. It wasn't that Rizzo liked her, because he didn't. Rizzo thought she was annoying, but he at least tried to be nice to the kid. The truth was he felt a little sorry for her. He didn't know details because Jimmy wouldn't tell him, but he did know that she didn't want to be in Minnesota.

"I never said I hated _her_. I said I hated red heads."

"Same difference," Rizzo said, rolling his eyes slightly. "But what did she do to you?"

"She came to help with the team."

"I don't think she had a choice, OC. I heard her mom made her move here. And she has to do something with her time."

"Well, she'll have school soon, won't she?" asked Silky.

"No, she's getting her GED or something, and then waiting a year for college. I don't think she wanted to change high schools," Jimmy explained.

"And she made that decision? Isn't that what parents are for?" OC asked.

"I think her mom feels sorry for her, so she can do pretty much whatever she wants," said Jimmy, shrugging, though he was just guessing. Herb told Jimmy that Riley's dad died recently, and although Jimmy's father never let him get away with murder after his mom died, every parent was different. Maybe Riley's mom let her do whatever she wanted now. When Herb told Jimmy about Riley's dad, he wasn't even sure if it was any of his business, but figured he was told because the two were in the same boat, both having lost a parent.

"Good. Now when I get some action from that little innocent red head, she won't get in trouble," said Silky.

"I don't think the girl's as innocent as we think."

"Why's that, OC?"

"Apparently, she gets around. She told me she's pretty experienced."

"Yeah right. I don't believe that for a second," said Silky. "Experienced my ass. I can tell she's shy underneath her little act. Shy girls aren't experienced."

"Was everything you told her last night a lie?" asked Bah, remembering some of the things Silky said to Riley.

"Yeah," Silky said. "Obviously," he snorted. "I don't think she's attractive-hot," Silky said, as if there were multiple versions of being hot.

"Should we invite her out again tonight?" wondered Rizzo. "We should be nice to her."

"No," said OC.

"Yes," said Silky at the same time.

* * *

Riley was walking to Herb's office after her workout when Rizzo stopped her.

"Hey Riley. Do you want to hang out with us again tonight? A bunch of the guys are coming to my room later on. I'm going to make some spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, and we'll probably play some cards or something after." Rizzo only asked because he thought that Riley might change once everyone got t know her. He thought that maybe she was only annoying because he didn't really know her that well.

"I'd love to come, but I have no way of getting there," Riley said, almost knowing Rizzo would have someone pick her up.

"I'm sure one of the guys would be happy to come get you," Rizzo said, though knowing it definitely wouldn't be OC. And he wanted to avoid asking Silky too, though it seemed he would be more than willing.

"Good. I don't think they'll mind if it means I'll be there," Riley said, thrilled to get an invite again.

"Someone will come over around five," Rizzo said, ignoring Riley's previous statement because he knew some guys would mind her coming after all.

"Okay, see you then."

Herb was on the phone when Riley went into his office. She sat down in the chair in front of his desk and waited for him to finish. A few seconds later, he hung up.

"Hi Riley. How is everything going?"

"Good," Riley said, wondering if he was going to mention anything else about the incident earlier at practice. When Riley went to see him immediately after practice, he actually didn't say much, and Riley was surprised. She figured he say more now, but maybe she was wrong.

"Do you like the guys?"

"Most of them. There are a few that I don't know that well yet. Tonight I'm going to Rizzo's room for dinner and to hang out." When Herb didn't say anything, she added in an unsure tone, "If that's okay."

"Sure, it's okay. I don't know what your mom will think, but I think it'll be good for you to hang out with the guys. Get to know 'em."

"Yeah. It's nice getting to know people here. Even though they're older than me, it doesn't feel like there's a big difference."

"Good, I'm glad you're fitting in. Luckily there is an age difference though. Otherwise, I'd have to worry about my players focusing on the wrong things. And I'd have to lecture you on the consequences of fraternizing with my players."

A drawn out "Yeah," was all that Riley said. _Was I the only one who didn't think five years was too much of a difference?_ Riley would date some of the guys on the team in a heartbeat if given the opportunity. They were all so cute, and for some, incredibly hot was a better way to describe them. Even just looking at some of them made Riley feel electric sparks. It was thrilling, but at the same time, a little scary. No guy had ever turned her on that much before, but now there were a handful of guys that turned her on. Even OC turned her on in a weird way. He was so hot – but unfortunately he was such a cocky, egotistical jerk that she would never consider anything with him.

Riley wished she could talk to Jenna about the guys. She had no one to tell. There was a time, before her dad died, that Riley would actually talk to her mom, but not anymore. Riley remembered how she used to tell her mom almost everything about boys. Her crushes, her first experience in playing spin the bottle… but not now. If she told her mom anything about what she felt now, she knew her mom would say that Riley wasn't really "turned on" and what she was feeling was only the result of the "raging teenage hormones" and that it was only because there were "so many attractive guys all at once". Riley knew none of that was true though. She knew these guys were different because she felt differently around them.

* * *

After the guys were finished for the day, they started heading back to the dorms at the U. Rizzo needed to stop at the store first to pick up more sauce though. He usually liked making homemade sauce, but that was usually hard to do with the time constraints of the team schedule.

"Rizzo, wait up," Bah said, stopping him in the parking lot. "I have a slight problem."

"What is it?" Rizzo wondered, not knowing what a problem of Bah could possibly mean for him.

"It's my best friend Emma's birthday today. I forgot that I invited her and her friends over for a party tonight. Can we do the pasta night tomorrow instead?"

"Sure, if you really want my pasta I guess we could wait until tomorrow," Rizzo said, pretending to be really flattered that Bah wanted his pasta. Rizzo knew that Bah didn't really care about the pasta though, and that there was another reason for him bringing up the postponing of the dinner, but Rizzo wanted to tease him.

"Well, the thing is… I promised her a big party. And we'll need the common room-slash-lounge area for the food and everything."

"No problem," Rizzo said. "Do you need anything at the store? I'm going there anyway."

"Uh, yeah. Mind if I go with you?"

"No, not at all."

"Thanks, Rizzo," Bah said. "I can't believe I almost forgot. Emma would have killed me."

Rizzo just laughed, but Bah was half serious. She was bipolar. Well, not really, but Bah teased her and said she was all of the time. On one hand, Emma had quite a temper. She was stubborn, assertive, never hesitated speaking exactly what was on her mind, and never took crap from anyone. One the other hand, Emma could also be an emotional train wreck at times. Bah never knew if something was going to make her angry or make her unhappy.

Usually Emma saved her headstrong self for people she felt really confident around, and her weaker, unsure self for people she was uncomfortable around. She was usually stubborn and assertive around Bah. He knew that was part of the reason they were best friends. She was assertive, while he was submissive in comparison. Emma was almost high strung, where as Bah was relaxed and laid-back. The one thing Bah didn't understand was that Emma could sometimes hide her emotions even around him. Luckily, Bah could usually read Emma like an open book though, and knew what her reaction would be if he forgot her birthday.


	5. Chapter 4 Age Ain't Nothing but a Number

dogdaysareover: Thanks! You'll definitely see more interaction between OC and Riley coming up. You'll also see more of best friends Emma and Bah. Thanks again for the review!

NellieBly413672: Glad you liked it and thanks for the review! Emma and Riley will meet briefly in this chapter, but they'll have more interaction later.

LTJM: Hopefully this was soon enough, lol. I wish I could post every day, but I know that would never happen… Glad you're liking it so far.

Peachy65: Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoy the next chapter.

A/N: This is a pretty long chapter, but part of the reason is that there is a long flashback in it. You don't really need to read it if you find the flashbacks boring, because it's not all that important. The med student in me got carried away writing the medical aspects, lol. The main point of it though, is to show that Riley was a lot closer to her mom before her dad died. Anyway, please read and review!

**Chapter 4: Age Ain't Nothing But a Number**

After practice, and by the time Riley got back to Herb's house from the U, it was already 3:30 and Riley had to get ready to go to the dorms. She took a quick shower and then got dressed in casual clothes. She figured she'd go with a pair of jeans and a Blackhawks t-shirt because they were only having dinner and playing cards. Riley put her wavy red hair up in a messy bun, and put on a little eye liner and mascara before deciding she was ready.

Jimmy ended up picking Riley up just after five to go to Rizzo's. At first, there was an awkward silence in the car, and both were thinking it would be a long fifteen minute ride. Neither knew what to talk about. Finally Jimmy broke the silence, although it was with a little something Riley didn't exactly feel comfortable talking about.

"So, why did you move here anyway?" Jimmy asked, though he already knew the answer. He figured it was easier than opening with '_How'd your dad die_?'

"Well, my mom thought it was a good idea. I wasn't really in agreement with that decision," Riley said.

Jimmy knew she wasn't telling him the whole reason though, so he went elsewhere with the conversation. "Mom's always know best," Jimmy said, remembering his mom with a sad smile.

Riley didn't notice Jimmy's sad tone, and came back with a comment. "Not always. My mom seems to do what's best for _her_. I'm sure you would agree that your mom doesn't always do what's best for you either."

"She did when she was alive," Jimmy said, grimacing.

Riley got quiet, feeling really bad. "I'm so sorry," Riley said quietly and sincerely, though knowing from experience that sympathetic thoughts don't do any good. "I know what it's like to lose someone close," Riley added, though not offering the information about her dad.

Normally, when someone said something like that, Jimmy mumbled back with a comment to the effect of, _'Unless you have a dead parent, you couldn't possibly know what it's like,' _but this time, knowing Riley did have a dead parent, he didn't. Instead, he said, "I heard you went through it rather recently."

_How did he know? _Riley thought.

As if reading her thoughts, Jimmy said, "Herb told me."

"Oh."

"How did he die?" Jimmy asked. He then glanced at her, noticed hesitation, and added, "If you don't mind me asking."

"A-L-L," Riley said. To clarify, she added, "Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. It's weird because, it's known as a childhood cancer but he was diagnosed at 47." After pausing for a minute, Riley asked, "What about your mom?"

"Lung cancer, she smoked for years." Then Jimmy added sounding somewhat sad or resentful, Riley couldn't tell which, "My dad still won't quit." Then Jimmy asked, "How long was your dad sick?"

Normally, Riley mined being asked and answering all of these questions, but with Jimmy she felt okay about it, since it was more like a conversation between them. Riley found their similarity comforting.

"Nine months," Riley said. Last September, he went to the doctor because he'd been really tired for about a month, then he started getting headaches every day. When he started feeling pain in arms – not like muscle pain, but in the actual bone – and he lost his appetite, that's when he decided to get checked out. The doctor did some blood tests and found out he had cancer. Usually, leukemia is caught early and chemo works really well, but his was really advanced. The doctor said that starting chemo that day wasn't soon enough." Riley paused a few seconds before continuing. "He was given a year with treatment, six months without. I think he went through chemo just for me," Riley said, barely above a whisper, and wiped a tear from her eye. "I begged him to keep fighting. My mom wanted him to let go." Riley paused again, trying not to cry. "He went into remission, but then in late May, he started going downhill fast. He made it to June 10th, nine months to the day of his diagnosis."

"I'm so sorry, Riley," Jimmy said, his voice filled with sympathy.

"How long was your mom sick?" Riley said, trying to steer away from her dad for a minute.

"A year. One day, she realized she was gaining weight. Turns out, it was water weight. The cancer spread to her brain and caused her to retain water. She went through chemo and was doing okay for a while. When she was in the hospital I would go see her every day after practice. Then, right after hockey season, she went downhill really fast and died a month later."

Riley just nodded and didn't say anything, she knew she didn't need to. The rest of the ride was quiet, and Riley got lost in thought of the day she learned her dad had cancer.

* * *

_September 10, 1978_

_Riley was in her 9__th__ period math class, last class of the day, watching the seconds tick by on the clock. She wished it could go by faster – math was not her subject. It was only the second week of school and she was already sick of it. With twenty minutes left in class, the secretary's voice came over the PA. "Could Riley Brennan please report to the main office?"_

_"Oooh," the class said in unison. "What'd you do Riley?" one guy asked._

_Sort of embarrassed and very confused Riley left the class to go to the main office. She was very surprised to see her mom standing there. When Mary turned around, Riley noticed that it looked like she had been crying._

_"Riley, go get you things – you're leaving a little early today," the secretary told her. Riley didn't take her eyes away from her mother._

_"Mom, what's wrong?" she asked._

_"Your dad's doctor appointment didn't go well today," Mary said. "Please hurry and get your things."_

_Riley wanted to ask what was wrong, but knew she wouldn't be told anything until they were on their way wherever they were going. But from the look on her mom's face, Riley knew it was bad. Very worried she ran upstairs to grab her things and was in the car with her mom less than five minutes later._

_"Mom, what's wrong?" Riley asked when they pulled out of the parking lot._

_"Your dad went to the hospital right after his appointment today. The doctor said he has some type of leukemia," she said, looking at Riley with sad eyes._

_"But that's cancer!" Riley said, shocked. "Don't kids get leukemia?" she asked, hoping she heard her mom wrong._

_"Apparently, adults get it too."_

_"He's gonna be okay, right?" Riley asked, looking at her mom for confirmation._

_"I don't know, sweetie," her mom said, putting a hand on her shoulder._

_"Are we getting Kyle and Erin?" Riley asked._

_"No, they're going to the Lancer's house after school. Mrs. Lancer offered to keep them there until we get home later tonight. I figured you would want to be with dad."_

_"Thanks Mom, I do," Riley said, and failed in her attempt to force a smile. She did appreciate her mom's gesture though._

_When they got to the hospital, Riley was still in shock. She couldn't believe her dad had cancer. _It must be easier to treat in adults_, Riley thought. _And it couldn't be that advanced. He just started feeling sick a few weeks ago.

_Mary and Riley went into see her dad and the doctor was there talking to him. "How are my favorite girls?" he asked, interrupting the doctor._

_Neither said much, but they both tried to smile._

_"This must be your wife and daughter," the doctor said, sounding almost sympathetic._

_"Yes."_

_"Well, maybe we could all go over the results together," the doctor said, motioning for Riley and her mom to take a seat._

_"Riley, do you want to go get something to eat from the cafeteria?" her mom asked._

_"No, I want to hear what the doctor's going to say."_

_Her mom looked at the doctor, unsure._

_"I think it's a good idea if she stays," her dad said. "I think she's old enough to know what's going on."_

_"I don't know if that's a good idea," the doctor said._

_"She can handle it," he dad said. "We'll have to tell her what's going on eventually."_

_After everyone was seated, the doctor began talking. "Okay, as far as lab results go, your white blood cell count is very high. The bad part about that is that the cells aren't mature cells, they're called blasts. These blasts are getting in the way of your normal red and white blood cells. These labs are actually the most extreme I've seen." He paused for a minute. "This type of cancer usually affects kids – it's significantly rarer in adults. There are treatments available, and if you opt to go through treatment, I suggest starting them immediately. We want to do some more tests today to see how far it has spread, and how extensive the involvement is."_

_"What's the treatment?" Riley's dad asked._

_"Combination chemotherapy is the number one chemotherapy now. It's basically a mix of four drugs that will kill the cancerous cells and hopefully put you in remission. _

_Riley's mom spoke up next. "You said if he opts to go through treatment. Why wouldn't he?"_

_"Well, it's really a quality of life issue. There are side effects of chemo commonly including nausea, loss of feeling in your extremities, hair loss, and excessive tiredness. If we found out the cancer is very advanced, he may not want to treat it, but spend the rest of his life happily with family and friends. We can give medications to make him comfortable – relieve the bone pain, headaches, anemia…"_

_"What are the chances I'll go into remission if I have treatment?" Riley's dad asked._

_"It's hard to say right now. Let's wait for the other tests to come back."_

_Two hours later, the doctor came back in with more news. Riley thought he looked really solemn, and knew he was about to give bad news."_

_"Mr. and Mrs. Brennan, we have more results for you. You may want your daughter to step out of the room for a minute." _

"_I want to stay."_

_"Maybe you should go Riley. You haven't eaten. You can get something to eat and when you come back, we'll talk," her dad suggested._

_"Please let me stay," Riley begged._

_"Dan, just let her stay," Mary said, putting an arm around Riley's shoulder._

_Riley's dad nodded, and motioned for the doctor to continue._

_"Unfortunately, the cancer has spread. It's very advanced," the doctor said, glancing at Riley. "In kids this cancer is easier to treat, but in adults it's incredibly difficult. Also, one of the tests showed that your CNS is involved. That means if we decide to treat, we will have to start intrathecal chemotherapy immediately."_

_"He's going to get better though right?" Riley asked, ignoring the medical jargon she didn't understand. She wished doctors would just speak in English._

_"I'm sorry, but even with treatment I can't guarantee anything," the doctor said._

_"How long do I have?" Riley's dad asked._

_"With treatment, a year. Without, I'd say about six months. I'm very sorry." The doctor looked at the three family members. He went onto talk about their options, while Riley didn't hear anything else he said._

_Riley was in shock. Seven hours ago, she was passing notes to her best friend in French. Six hours ago, she was having, and complaining about, a crappy school lunch with her friends. Five hours ago, she was happily trying to flirt with her crush in history. Now she was sitting in a hospital room, wondering how and why this happened. Months stuck out in her mind. Her dad can't die in six months! He was young. She needed him. Her family needed him. He couldn't die._

_"Riley, we'll be okay?" Mary asked, pulling Riley into a hug, and over to her dad's bedside. The doctor had left to give them a few minutes to talk about their options._

_"Daddy!" Riley said, throwing her arms around her dad, crying._

_"Oh Riley," he said, "everything will be alright."_

_"No it won't. A year isn't long enough."_

_Her parents sort of ignored that. "Riley, we'll have the best six months. We'll spend time together and make the most…" Riley mom's trailed off, tearing up._

_"The doctor said a year," Riley said._

_"Only with chemo, baby," he dad said._

_"But you have to do it!"_

_"Sweetie, there are too many bad side effects. He won't get much more time anyway."_

_"But he could be cured," Riley told her mom. "You could go into remission!" she told her dad._

_"The doctor said there was only a five percent chance. And even if he does, he will probably relapse within two years at the most."_

_"But he might not. Don't you believe in miracles?" Riley asked, sniffling._

_After Riley begged her dad, and kept it up about ten minutes, Dan agreed to go through treatment._

_"Mary, I think Riley has a point. What if I do make it? If we don't try, we'll never know."_

_"Dan, I want you to be you for the time we have left."_

_"I will be," he said. "If I get really bad on the chemo, the doctor said we could always stop. Then I'll be back to my normal self and enjoy what time I have left."_

_Mary reluctantly agreed, trying to be hopeful, but had a bad feeling that things wouldn't go well._

_

* * *

_

When Jimmy and Riley got to the dorms, the guy's hallway was pretty crowded. Riley didn't realize they invited other people too. Apparently, neither did Jimmy.

"What are all these people doing here?" he wondered out loud. He knew Riley probably wouldn't know either, and no one else was around, so he wasn't really asking anyone in particular.

"It seems like there's a party," Riley said. "I thought everyone was just coming over to hang out. Spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, and then cards was what Rizzo told me."

Bah then appeared in the doorway of Rizzo's room, where Jimmy and Riley were headed and answered their unspoken question.

"Yeah, I know – it's a lot of people. My best friend's birthday is today, and I got the days mixed up. A couple days ago I told her she could come over and bring her friends for a party. Clearly, word spread like wildfire. I don't even know half of these people." Bah moved from the doorway he was blocking. "Come on in."

Jimmy and Riley followed him inside the room where most of the team was hanging out. "Jimmy, Riley – this is Emma," Bah said, introducing them to a pretty girl with straight, light brown hair, light blue eyes, and skin that would have been fair if it wasn't a little red from the sun. She was a little taller than Riley, making her average height, but she had a fuller figure than Riley. Her face was round and her cheeks full, making her look younger than Riley knew she really was.

"Hi guys. Thanks for coming to my party." Emma turned away as fast as she said hi, wanting to go find one of the guys.

_Her party_, thought Riley. Riley didn't come for Emma – she came because she thought she was going to hang out with the guys again. Making a quick decision, based off almost nothing, Riley thought, _I don't like Emma one bit._

As if to explain Emma's quick departure, Bah said, "She's already had a little too much to drink. She doesn't normally act like that."

As the night went on, Riley found more reasons to not like Emma. For one, the guys all seemed to get along with her great. No one even really talked to her that night at all. Riley felt invisible and it sucked.

"What's going on, Riley?" Silky asked, pulling Riley from her thoughts.

"Just thinking," she said.

"Beer?" Silky asked, handing her a bottle. Riley took it. She already had two that night, and the second wasn't as bad as the first, so Riley hoped she was 'acquiring the taste' everyone always talked about, and the third would be even better than the first two.

"Want to go outside and talk?" Silky asked after Riley opened the beer and took a drink.

"Sure," she said, with a little hesitation, though unnoticed by Silky, wondering why Silky would want to talk to her outside.

Riley walked next to him, their shoulders occasionally bumping each others at they walk down the stairs and outside. Riley wasn't sure if Silky was bumping her on purpose, if he was drunk, or if Riley herself was getting a little tipsy, although she didn't feel tipsy. Although the temperature was cooler outside, Riley felt hotter with each passing second standing near Silky.

"Are you having fun tonight?" Silky asked once they left the dorm building and were walking on the path that circled the dorms.

"Yeah, I like hanging out with everyone," Riley lied. Truthfully, Riley hated the fact that she was being ignored that night, and she wasn't having much fun. Until Silky began talking to her, that was.

"Good," Silky said. After making a little more small talk, Silky stopped walking. Noticing Silky stop, Riley stopped too and looked at him. Looking in his eyes, Riley noticed they were sort of glazed over. _Well, he was definitely the one bumping into me. _Riley could tell he was drunk, high, or both. Riley guessed he was drunk, because she didn't think the guys had drugs in their rooms, and she didn't smell or notice anyone smoking weed. Riley could also smell beer – not because she had one in her hand, but because Silky's was too close to her and she could not only feel his hot breath in her face, but smell it as well.

"You're really pretty," Silky said in a low voice, raising his hand near Riley's ear and playing with a piece of her hair that had fallen from her bun.

"Thanks," Riley said, quietly, and blushed, her face matching her hair.

Silky kept staring at her, which made Riley a little uncomfortable. She wasn't used to guys acting like that around her, and she didn't really know what to do. She shifted her weight, and tried to avoid looking in Silky's eyes.

Silky then laughed a little, and looked away, then started walking again.

"What's wrong?" Riley asked.

"Nothing," Silky said, and then glanced at Riley. "It's just… well… never mind."

"Tell me."

"You're gorgeous, and I like you – but you're only seventeen. I can't – not with a seventeen year old. And besides that, you're Herb's niece. If I laid a finger on you, he'd kill me."

"What he doesn't know can't hurt," Riley said, trying to sound suggestive. Riley reminded herself that if she wanted a college aged guy she would have to act like a college aged girl.

"I can't Riley. As much as I want to, I can't."

Before Riley could think of something to say in response, or ask exactly what it was that Silky "couldn't" do, Silky spoke again.

"We should wait a little while. See what happens in the next few weeks or so."

"And then?" Riley asked, wondering exactly what Silky was thinking.

"Well, we'll see what happens when it happens."

"Okay," Riley said, still wondering exactly what Silky had in mind. Although, she thought she knew, and it made butterflies flutter in her stomach.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the dorms…

"Bah, where did Riley go?" Rizzo asked.

"Don't know, haven't seen her."

OC answered after taking a long drink from his beer. "She left with Silky."

"Funny, OC," Rizzo said.

OC just raised his eyebrows as if to say, 'I'm serious and I don't care if you don't believe me.'

"Shit OC – you're serious? Why the hell didn't you stop them?"

"I'm not their mother. I don't give a fuck what they do."

"Damn it," Rizzo swore again. "You know what he's gonna do, don't you?" OC shrugged, knowing very well.

"What?" asked Rammer, wanting to know.

"Lay on the Silky charm?" asked Buzz, guessing. "Then have his way with her?"

"Yes – and she's fucking seventeen!" Rizzo said. "Silky always does this. He gets a girl alone, tells her she's beautiful, lays on all sorts of charm, and from there it goes two ways. If she's outgoing and drunk enough to agree – they sleep together. If she shy or not drunk, Silky picks up on it right away and pretends to want to get to know the girl better. Then he ends up sleeping with her eventually anyway.

"Rizzo, it's not your problem, I wouldn't worry about it," Bah said.

"I do worry though. If they sleep together and Herb finds out…Silky's a dead man. Not only that, but she's underage. Silky could be in more trouble than just with Herb."

Just then, Silky and Riley walked back in the door.

"Where were you two?" Rizzo asked, almost accusingly.

"Jealous Rizzo?" Silky asked. Then, "It's none of your business where we were." He was behind Riley now, and put his hands on her shoulders, giving her a quick massage, and then moved his hands to her hips to lead Riley over to the couch. They sat down next to each other, and OC immediately got up for another beer. Mac took his seat, which happened to be on the other side of Riley.

For the next hour, Silky was practically attached to Riley. Mac tried to talk to her, but Riley hardly paid attention to him. Everyone else was having their own conversations too, so everyone but Rizzo was too busy to notice, or care about, Riley and Silky. When Jimmy told Riley he was going to take her home, Riley reluctantly got up from her cozy spot on the couch. Once she was out of earshot, Silky told Mac, "This means war."

"Excuse me?"

"Riley's all mine," Silky said as he got up to leave. "You're more than welcome to my sloppy seconds though," Silky said with a wink. Mac was going to get up and punch Silky, but Bah, who had heard Silky's comment from his position standing behind the couch, grabbed Mac before he got the chance. "He's not worth it man. Leave him alone."

"It's not right to talk about Riley like that."

"Come on, Mac," Bah said. "Your biggest issue is that he's beating you to it, and making it a competition. A competition that you don't stand a chance in. You don't care about Riley that much. You can't possibly tell me you like her, because you barely know her. For some reason you think she's hot, but that's it."

Mac didn't argue with Bah, but didn't admit to him being right either.

By two in the morning, everyone went back to their respective dorms, leaving Bah and Verchota, the roommates, along with Emma and Mark Pavelich as the only ones still there.

"I didn't get to talk to you much tonight, Emma," Verchota said. "It's really a shame, because you seem like a nice girl."

"Save it Verchota, she's not like that," Pav said.

"You know her?"

"We go way back," Pav said, putting an arm around Emma and laughed. "Actually, I've only known her since college. She went to UMD too, and I got to know her since the two of them were always attached at the hip," Pav said, pointing to Bah and Emma.

"Are they like…ya know?" Verchota quietly asked, making a hand motion. Although he was quiet, both Emma and Bah heard.

"God no!" they said at the exact same time.

"We're like brother and sister," Bah said.

"It's gross even thinking about it," Emma said. "That mental image alone is enough to scar me for life."

"So you two are friends and you've never…?"

"I noticed you're pretty good friends with Mac, Verchota. You mean you've never…" Emma said, smiling with a glitter in her eyes.

"Haha, very funny, Emma," Verchota said, rolling his eyes. "You know what I meant."

"Do I?"

"Come on. Best friends? There has to be something more to that."

"Does there?" Emma asked, sounding upset. "You know, I'm sick of people saying shit like that. Just because we're friends, does that mean we have to be doing each other?" Verchota didn't say anything while he tried to think of a comeback. "We really are more like brother and sister," Emma finished.

"I'm gonna say you two are more like twins," Pav said. "You can even finish each other's sentences."

"We've been together since we were in diapers," Bah said. "It comes with the territory."

"Well, I better get going. It's late and I have to be up early tomorrow, as you all do too I'm sure," Emma said.

"But we didn't get to talk," said Verchota, pouting.

"Maybe next time," Emma said with a laugh.

"Do you live around here?"

"I go to UMTC for grad school, so yeah. I live in an apartment like five minutes from here."

"So we will be seeing ore of each other…"

"Yeah Verchota," Emma said, rolling her eyes and laughing.

"I'll walk you out to your car, Emma," Pav offered. He had to head back to his own room anyway so he wanted to walk Emma on his way out.

Emma thanked Bah for her birthday party, and both Emma and Pav then said good-bye and left. Until Bah and Verchota went to bed, Verchota continually pestered Bah about his and Emma's relationship. Eventually, Bah knew he at least sort of convinced Verchota that nothing was going on between himself and Emma, because Verchota stopped asking.


	6. Chapter 5: Clashes

dogdaysareover: Glad you liked it, thanks for reviewing. And eventually there will be more Jimmy and Riley interaction. Thanks again.

NellieBly413672: Glad you liked it and thanks for the review! You'll see more of the war coming up, lol.

LTJM: Glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing!

Peachy65: Thanks for the review! I'll definitely include more Pav in my story now that I know you like him. I never really wrote him much, and in all of my stories I tend to write the same characters, so this time I'll definitely give him some more dialogue. Thanks again!

A/N: Okay, thanks again to everyone's who's reading/reading and reviewing! I really appreciate the comments. And if anyone has any suggestions to make the story better, or something you would like to see happen in the story - it might take a couple chapters, but I'll definitely try to include the ideas. Sorry this update took a while by the way. I had a super busy week. But a delayed update means less time waiting for the next one. I'm going to try to update again on Tuesday. Please read and review!

**Chapter 5: Clashes**

The next day, the guys had practice again, and had another team meeting after practice. This time it was to discuss their pre-Olympic exhibition schedule. They didn't really think there was anything to discuss, but Herb apparently did.

"Home game days, we'll have a short morning skate here, and then you'll have the rest of the day to relax and prepare for the game. For away games, our schedule might change a little depending on where we're playing. I expect everyone to be in their rooms by eleven the night before a game. I'm not going to check up on you. But I _will_ know.

"He'll have Riley check up on us," OC commented to Rizzo, which Rizzo ignored seeing that Herb was giving OC a death glare. _I guess he can read lips too, _Rizzo thought, knowing OC was way too quiet for Herb to have heard him. _Maybe it was just because OC was talking at all._

Herb continued, still glaring at OC. "And if you play like crap, forget about playing at all. I expect you to be mature, responsible adults while you're out as well. I know you'll go out and have fun – you're a bunch of college kids, but remember why you're here, and how fast I can change my mind about you being here. We're leaving for Europe September first. It's a two week trip, and our longest and farthest road trip of the season."

Herb went on to talk about their upcoming games and after about an hour their meeting was over. After the guys got their stuff from the lockers rooms and were heading out, Riley stopped a few in the hallway.

"So what are you guys all doing tonight?" she asked Pav, Mark Johnson, and Rammer.

"We're not doing anything tonight," Rammer answered. "After the last couple of nights, we all just want to hang low and relax."

"Oh," Riley said, a little disappointed. She didn't want to sit at home all night with nothing to do. Back in Chicago it didn't bother her, but here it did, especially because it wasn't home here. Being here almost felt like an extended vacation, but a vacation Riley didn't want to be on. Aside from that, she figured the guys would end up hanging out anyway. Without her. They all lived on the same floor, so even if they were relaxing at the dorms, chances were they would be doing something together. Riley felt left out.

"See ya around," Rammer said as they left her standing in the hallway.

* * *

That night, the guys did end up staying in. Quite a few guys ended up watching baseball and playing cards, and at one point, Rammer suggested they invite Riley because he picked up that she sounded disappointed earlier.

"No, no, no, and no. We are not inviting her. Why does everyone think we have to let her hang out with us?" OC wondered out loud.

"Because she's around all the time at practice, and we're the only people she knows here," Bah said.

"Well, that's her problem."

"OC, be nice," Rizzo said, in a warning tone.

"You don't like her either, so don't start," OC said in response.

"But there's such a thing as being civil to people you don't particularly like too. That's what I'm doing. Besides, maybe she'll grow on us," Rizzo added with a shrug.

"How 'bout we don't mention her name anymore tonight. Then I won't have to be mean." Rizzo just rolled his eyes at OC's comment, but actually thought his idea was for the best. He would love to just relax and play cards while watching the baseball game without any arguing. It was bad enough when OC argued with Mac, but even worse when there was an argument about someone not even present.

"Dammit!" Buzz said when the Twins batter struck out. "We needed him to step up. He's our best player."

"I hate the Twins," OC commented, throwing his cards on the table. "Fold," he said.

"You just hate Minnesota," Rizzo said, glad they were off the topic of Riley, and then added, "Raising three." Rizzo threw in three chips to raise the Texas Hold 'Em pot.

"Rizzo probably has a flush or trips," Silky said, knowing his friend well. "I fold. Not taking any chances here."

"I'll match you," Bah said, throwing in his three chips. "I bet he has crap."

"You've never played with Rizzo before," Silky commented. "He has the worst poker face in history. He never, ever bluffs."

"I do too," Rizzo argued.

"Fold," Rammer said, trusting Silky.

"Come on," complained Bah. "No one's taking a chance?"

"Nope, Silky's played with him before. He would know," Rammer said, explaining his fold.

"Check," Rizzo said on his next turn. When that round was over, it was time for Bah and Rizzo to flip their cards.

"Flush," Bah said, turning over an Ace-high spade flush.

"_That's_ crap," Silky commented. "Rizzo won."

"What you got, Riz?" OC asked.

Rizzo flipped his cards over and said, "Jack trips with an Ace kicker."

"Rizzo takes the pot," OC commented.

"Damn, you should have raised more than three," Silky said.

"And have everyone fold? I don't think so," said Rizzo. "I wanted to keep someone in it. There probably would have been more still in too if _you_ didn't say anything," Rizzo told Silky.

"Guys, guys, look at this!" Buzz said from his position on the couch. He and Verchota weren't playing cards and were just watching the game. Watching professional sporting events on TV was a new commodity, and some couldn't get enough.

"Damn she's hot," Verchota said, talking about the same thing as Buzz.

The card playing guys all looked to the TV to see a beer commercial with a hot blonde in a bikini. Some guys couldn't get enough of the commercials either, although beer commercials were not new.

"I'd hit that," Silky said. Until the commercial was over, the guys were all watching the TV in awe.

"I think I need a cold shower," Verchota joked.

"What do you guys go for? Blondes or brunettes?" OC asked.

"Blondes," Bah and Verchota said in unison. "Definitely," Verchota added.

"I say whoever's willing to give it," Silky said.

"Like smart mouth little red heads?" Rammer joked.

"Doesn't make a difference to me," Rizzo said, ignoring Rammer's comment. "But if I had to pick, brunettes."

"OC?" Bah asked.

"I don't know. Probably brunettes."

"Really?" asked Verchota. "I would have pegged you as a blonde guy."

"Well, I've been with both. I guess it depends what I want. If I want a relationship, I'd definitely pick a brunette, if I wanted a good fuck, a blonde's the way to go."

"That's so stereotypical," commented Rizzo.

"But so true," OC said with a smile.

"How long is the longest you guys have waited for a girl to put out?" asked Verchota.

"I don't wait," Silky said, laughing.

"You're such a jerk," teased Bah. "Personally, I've waited a month, but if I really liked a girl, I would wait longer."

"Me too," said OC. "If the right girl came along, I like to think I'd wait quite a while. But in reality, I haven't met anyone worth waiting that long for."

"Rizzo?" Verchota asked.

"A while," said Rizzo.

"What's a while?"

"Undetermined," OC said for him. "He's waiting now."

"You have a girlfriend?" asked Bah.

"Yeah, it'll be a year in September."

"Think she's the one?" asked Bah.

"Maybe," Rizzo said with a smile.

"Aw, Rizzo's growing up," Verchota teased.

"Buzz, how long did you have to wait for Gayle?" Silky asked.

"A year."

"Yeah… I'm never getting married," Silky said, laughing.

"He says a year, but he was mainly the reason for that," Bah said. "He just doesn't like to admit it."

"Shut up, Bah," Buzz said, getting up to hit him. "You know that's not true."

"Yeah it is."

"Whatever, man," Buzz replied, now laughing himself.

* * *

As the next two weeks went by, the team started coming together more and more. The guys from Boston and Minnesota began hanging out a little more, which helped bridge the gap between Mac and OC. They were still not exactly on speaking terms, but if they needed to work together in practice, there wasn't a problem. Sometimes, they would even be caught at the same table at a bar or restaurant.

One Friday night, the guys decided to go to a bar near the dorms, but to switch it up they didn't go to the one they usually went to. They actually chose a different bar because they decided to invite other people and they wanted more space. Buzz had the idea of everyone inviting girlfriends, wives, or other friends so there was a big group. It was mainly because he felt guilty about leaving Gayle alone all of the time. Morrow was happy with that plan too, because his fiancée also wanted to get to know the team.

The first group to arrive at the bar was Bah, Pav, Verchota, and Mark, along with Emma. Shortly thereafter, Jimmy, OC, Rizzo, Silky, and Riley showed up. Riley was only invited because she invited herself after overhearing Mac talking about going out that night earlier that day after practice. OC thought Mac let Riley overhear on purpose because he wanted her to come. The two groups that arrived so far grabbed five big tables to be sure there was enough room for everyone that was still coming.

"Bah, weren't you bringing that other girl tonight too?" Pav asked while everyone was taking their seats. "Kristen or something?" he added for clarification.

"She said she's going to try to make it a bit later," Bah said.

"Wait a minute. Do you have another best friend Bah? Have you been holding out on me?" Verchota asked, laughing.

"Kristen's Bah's girlfriend," Pav said.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend," Verchota said.

"She's not my girlfriend," Bah said. "We've just gone out a few times. That does not make her my girlfriend."

"So, who wants a drink?" Silky asked, before Verchota had a chance to respond. "First round's on me."

Riley immediately raised her hand, and everyone else followed. Emma noticed how quickly Riley raised her hand and asked OC about it, who was sitting next to her.

"Is she even old enough to be here?"

"Nope. She just tags along and thinks she's cool if she drinks, so she does."

Emma just looked at OC and raised her eyebrows. OC wasn't sure whether she was asking why they would let her join them, or if she was just surprised they let her join them.

After Silky came back with the drinks, he began filling up the stack of glasses the bar tender gave him. He passed them around the table and sat down after everyone had something. The whole time Emma was just observing Riley and wondering what her story was. She remembered seeing her at her birthday party, but didn't really talk to her at all. Emma decided she didn't like Riley very much though. She just had the feeling that Riley was a show off, and aside from that, it seemed like she had a bad attitude. Emma then noticed Silky lean over to Riley and say something, which made Riley laugh a very fake laugh. A laugh that was usually used by girls when someone they like says something funny or tries to flirt. They smile and laugh, just because they're flirting back. Emma couldn't stand that laugh.

"So Riley, are you in high school here or what?" Emma asked.

"I'm done with high school," Riley said, in a tone that told Emma she would rather not talk to her. _Precisely why I'll continue,_ Emma thought.

"You don't look that old though. I thought you were about fifteen." Emma knew very well Riley wasn't fifteen, and with the outfit she was wearing, Riley could have passed for about eighteen or nineteen, but Emma wanted to push her buttons a bit.

"I was going to say the same about you," Riley shot back, making the atmosphere suddenly tense.

"At least I don't need to stuff my bra," Emma said, knowing a petite girl like Riley could not possibly have boobs as big as they looked with the plunging neckline she was wearing.

"You're just jealous because they don't make shirts like this in your size!" Riley spit back. _I'm so pissed at this Emma chick,_ she thought. _Who does she think she is, showing up like she's friends with more than just Bah and giving me attitude like she's better than me or something?_

Emma didn't respond to Riley's last comment and said instead, "What did do have to do to bribe someone to buy you a drink?" With this, Emma shot a look a Silky and raised her eyebrows.

"Who cares?" Riley said with a devious grin. "At least someone bought me a drink."

"Are you this bitchy to everyone?" Emma asked.

"Are you such a snob to everyone?" Riley shot back.

"At least I'm not a baby that feels the need to tag along with people older than me."

"The guys like having me around," Riley said, looking to Silky on her left for affirmation. Silky didn't give Riley the affirmation she wanted though. He didn't do anything.

"Oh do they?" Emma said, stifling a laugh while smirking at OC. "Riley, you're like a sad little puppy always following people around."

"Okay, that's enough," Bah said, warning his friend. He could see things were getting out of hand. None of the other guys knew what to do, but they were all watching what was happening.

"Sorry that I'm mature enough to hang out with people older than me," Riley continued, not wanting to let it go.

"Yeah, or you're just too much of a bitch to make real friends your own age," Emma said under her breath.

"Emma, please stop!" Bah told her in a loud whisper.

"That's okay, Bah," Riley said. "People that are insecure with themselves generally try to pick fights with people that are cooler than them."

Emma laughed out loud at this. She was one person not at all insecure with herself. Emma was the assertive and stubborn type. She was confident and never backed down. Maybe slightly emotionally reserved at times, but definitely not insecure. And Riley thought she was 'cooler' than Emma. Yeah right.

After Emma stopped laughing, and before either girl could say anything else, Bah changed the topic of conversation. "I wonder when everyone else will show up?" With this lame attempt that fortunately worked, the guys quickly forgot about the tense atmosphere just moments before.

A while later, most of the other guys showed up and this made it easier for Emma and Riley to avoid each other. Silky started a pool tournament and rounded up Buzz, Gayle, Riley, Mac, Rammer, Verchota, and Rizzo to play. Meanwhile Bah, OC, Emma, and Mark Johnson were sitting at a table, talking and drinking, while waiting for a dart board to free up. The rest of the guys and girls that were there with the team were playing foosball, sitting at other tables, or playing darts. Everyone was having a good time hanging out.

"I'll be on Riley's team," Mac said, picking up a pool cue and moving over to where she was standing.

"Nice try," Silky said quietly, just to Mac. "But I don't think so. She's on my team."

"Why don't you let her decide?" said Mac.

"Oh she will. I bet she'll decide to come home with me tonight too," Silky said with a wink. Buzz noticed the two guys beginning an argument and decided to put a stop to it.

"You two are on a team together. Riley, you're with me. Gayle, play with Rizzo."

Gayle knew exactly what Buzz was trying to do and nodded. The four teams split up and played on the two tables. Ever since Gayle got there, she could feel tension among everyone. It seemed that Riley and Emma, both of whom she just met, didn't like each other very much. She could tell Riley liked attention, and figured that was part of the reason the two girls didn't get along. Gayle also noticed that OC, who she also just met, had very strong opinions of people. He was nice to her, but he tried to avoid Riley like the plague. Gayle also noticed there was something going on between Silky and Riley. And maybe even Mac and Riley. She would have to remember to ask Buzz about that later.

* * *

In the meantime, OC's table was talking and having a great time. Emma was trying to get to know some of the guys. She took an immediate liking to OC, mainly because he seemed to share her dislike for Riley. Emma also thought OC was hot. His hair, his eyes, and his smile. Just thinking about that incredible smile made Emma beam! And his accent! Emma suddenly had a newfound partiality for Boston accents.

"So, you're from Boston?" she asked OC, though already knowing the answer. Emma just wanted to hear his wonderful voice.

"Yeah, how could you tell?" he said, smiling, joking with her.

"Are you a forward or defenseman?" she asked next.

"Defense," he responded. Then he asked, "So you and Bah have been best friends a long time right?"

"Since we were babies," Emma said.

"Are you guys together?" he asked. Then added, "Or have you ever been together?" OC was wondering because Bah made it pretty clear that they were just friends, but it was always interesting to see the girl's perspective in those situations.

Emma replied no, but wondered why OC was asking and thought that maybe he wanted to know for his own personal knowledge. _Maybe to see if I'm off limits or something_, she thought, sort of excited at that prospect.

The table then ran out of beer so OC offered to get some more. Emma followed him up to the bar.

"You don't have to help me," OC said. "I'm fully capable of getting a pitcher of beer myself." OC thought Emma seemed to be a nice person, but if she was going to follow him around, he would get annoyed fast.

"Well, I figured you'd want company," Emma replied. Emma really wanted to get to know him better, and figured it would be easier to talk alone.

"Emma, please just go sit down," OC said. Emma wouldn't listen. "Emma," OC started, putting an arm around her. "You see that girl over there by the corner of the bar?" OC waited while following Emma's gaze over to where OC was talking about. Emma saw a pretty blonde wearing a low cut top with her breasts practically falling out of it. "I want to talk to her. Alone. Catch my drift?" OC asked, raising his eyebrows.

Emma was so taken a back, she didn't know what to say. OC was talking to her like she was one of the guys. Before Emma could even come up with a response, OC left her standing there and went over the corner of the bar.

Minutes later, he came back to the table where Emma was sitting once again with a pitcher of beer and no smile on his face.

"Did everything work out for you?" Emma asked, half laughing. She couldn't help laughing at him because he was such a jerk moments before. No one ever put Emma at a loss for words. No one ever made Emma nervous either. OC was clearly an exception to both.

"No it didn't," OC mumbled. "Someone else beat me to it."

"If I were her, I would have turned the other guy down," Emma said with a flirty smile. OC smiled back, not because of Emma's flirting, but because he thought she was ridiculous. Ridiculous but sort of impressive at the same time.

_This girl's sure ballsy,_ OC thought. _Girls like her don't flirt with guys like me. Or maybe she just doesn't know the rules of flirting. Or maybe she's not flirting and just acts weird all of the time. _Girls flirted with OC all the time, but he was used to the hot girls flirting with him. The hot and easy girls. Not girls like Emma. He didn't want girls like Emma flirting with him, because it became annoying fast. Most of them didn't even know how to really flirt. It wasn't that OC thought Emma was ugly, but he didn't think she was pretty either. Emma was just average, and average girls didn't get very far with Jack O'Callahan.

Emma however, thought differently of OC's smile. She was immediately convinced it meant that he was responsive and even willing to reciprocate the flirting, and she was happy because it boosted her confidence around OC.

Meanwhile, Buzz and Riley were playing pool against Silky and Mac. Silky and Mac were demolishing Riley and Buzz. After Silky went on to take the winning shot, he decided he needed another beer before playing Gayle and Rizzo. Mac took the opportunity to talk to Riley alone.

"Well, that was fun," Mac said, trying to make conversation. Now that Silky was gone, he had the opportunity to finally be wit Riley alone. He was trying to figure out why he liked Riley. Was it based on looks alone, or was there something else there? Mac knew the only way he would figure that out was to talk to her alone.

"Yeah, maybe for you. I suck," Riley said.

"You're not that bad," Mac said moving closer to her.

"Um, did you miss my three scratches and notice that I only hit one in, and that was only because it was a straight shot?"

"Well, okay. Maybe you're not the best at pool. But so what? Who's counting the wins?"

Riley just shrugged, not wanting to answer. She hated looking like a fool in front of these guys.

"Besides, I've noticed that pretty girls usually aren't good at pool," Mac flirted.

"What, have you kept a tally or something?" Riley said, laughing it off, oblivious that he was flirting. She then realized Mac was flirting, and was suddenly confused. _Two guys think I'm pretty_? she thought. Riley wasn't used to that sort of attention.

What Riley didn't know was that only Mac thought she was actually pretty, while Silky did not.

"I love your hair like that," Mac said, leaning even closer to Riley and playing with the part that had fallen in front of her face. Riley just looked at Mac, and for the first time, she noticed that he was really good looking. Different from Silky, but good looking all the same.

Silky walked back over to the two and pulled Mac's arm. "Come on, partner. Time to play the game."

"Gayle and Rizzo aren't even ready yet," Mac protested, knowing that their opponents were getting refills as well. He wasn't really finished talking to Riley. He was just starting to get her to notice him, and the moment was gone.

"Well, _you're_ ready," Silky said.

"Maybe I wasn't," Mac muttered.

"You are now. You're done talking to her."

"I think I'll know when I'm done talking to her," Mac grunted.

"Ready guys?" Rizzo asked, before Silky had the chance to reply.

Neither Mac nor Silky had much of an opportunity to talk to Riley alone anymore that night. The guys wouldn't let the other out of their sight for the very reason that they didn't want to give the other the opportunity to be alone with Riley.


	7. Chapter 6: Good Girls Don't

dogdaysareover: You'll just have to see, lol. Thanks for the review!

NellieBly413672: Yeah, lol, they do need to learn how to act around guys. You'll see soon that Emma needs more work on that than Riley though. Riley just needed to warm up and get comfortable with them being older than her.

LTJM: Thanks for the review! I tried to update as soon as I could!

A/N: Thanks again for the reviews! They really keep me motivated to write.

**Chapter 6: Good Girls Don't **

The last two weeks in August were tough ones. With these being the last two weeks before the exhibition games began, Herb was pushing the team hard. He wanted them to be at their best, and although the guys wanted the same thing, some thought Herb was being a bit excessive. After practicing at least three hours a day, the team met to discuss plays, watch film, and lift weights. Tuesday and Thursday, the guys had conditioning days, which were the absolute worst. Their practice was exactly as it sounded, all conditioning. They would be lucky to pick up a stick once during the three hour span. Most were hoping that these conditioning routines would die down once their games began. Team building days were Monday and Wednesday afternoons. The only good things about those days was that after their hour lunch break, their day was significantly easier. Sometimes even fun. And even though their team building exercises were generally on ice drills, there was less rigorous work involved.

After practice the Thursday before the team was leaving for Europe, the guys were in the locker room, changing and recuperating.

"I wish I was a goalie," OC said, sitting on the bench, willing himself to get up and head to the showers.

"Why's that?" asked Rizzo.

"Jimmy and Jannie have it easy. Their conditioning isn't skating Herbies for hours on end."

"You think we have it easy?" asked Jimmy. "Walk a mile in my shoes then."

"You guys aren't skating."

"Our conditioning is harder. And we do skate."

"Not as much as us," OC said.

"Yeah, but we have to do interval training on the treadmills for one hour straight, tons of strength and flexibility training, and those damn hand-eye coordination drills with tennis balls."

"Those are ridiculous," Jannie cut in. "I hate the one that you have to dribble a tennis ball on the hockey stick, it's like that soccer game, what's it called?"

"Bricks?" Rammer asked, wondering if that was the soccer thing Jannie was thinking of.

"Yeah, that's it."

"I hate that game," Rammer said. "My sister whoops my ass every time we play that."

"And you call yourself an athlete," OC joked.

"You don't know my sister, man. She's a damn good soccer player. I guess she has the genes for foot-eye coordination, and I got the ones for hand-eye coordination."

"Everyone decent?" Riley called in the locker room. "I need to pick up towels." Lately, Herb has had Riley pick up the towels and laundry after practice because the guy that normally took care of it was out of town. Riley wasn't thrilled her uncle was having her do disgusting, smelly laundry, but she couldn't tell him no. No matter how many other people Riley would just tell off, Herb was one person she tried not to cross. His "hockey side" was a lot more impatient and quick to anger than his "home side", and it could even be scary.

"Decent enough," Mac yelled out, and Riley walked in. By now, she was used to seeing the guys with their shirts off so it didn't phase her anymore. The first few times, she was sort of taken aback and couldn't focus on the task at hand because she was too busy enjoying the show, but now it was second nature. Not that she enjoyed it any less though.

"Are you coming to Europe?" Bah asked.

"Nope. Herb thinks it would be better if I stayed home," Riley said, with a slight eye roll that went unnoticed by Bah. The truth was, Riley believed Herb wouldn't let her go because it was really her mom that wanted her to stay home. Riley tried to avoid her mom as much as possible recently, and now her mom was saying that they weren't 'spending enough time together'. Herb thought it was best if Riley stayed home to spend a little more time with her family.

"That sucks," Bah replied, feeling sort of sorry for Riley. Over the past month since the team met Riley, some of the guys grew to like her, or at least their ability to tolerate her increased. Some of the guys even began to view Riley as a little sister, albeit, an annoying little sister. Bah was one of the guys that was beginning to tolerate Riley more. He realized that her attitude was mainly because she had a rough time recently, although he didn't know the details. Bah also realized that some of the things Riley did just because she was trying to fit in with guys a bit older than her. Bah knew that for some reason Emma still hated Riley though, so Bah avoided mentioning her when around Emma.

Not all of the guys were willing to tolerate Riley though. There were still a handful of guys that flat out didn't like her. Other than being tough to get to know for Riley's lack of opening up with respect to her life, Riley did give people attitude. For these reasons, some thought she was a stuck up snob. The guys also knew she got away with almost anything at home, if home was even what you would call it, because she wasn't living with her immediate family. Herb didn't seem to care what she did either though. Granted, Herb was running a hockey team and not babysitting Riley, but she never had a curfew at night or rules that any of the guys knew of. Herb even let Riley stay in Rizzo's room one night the week before after a night of hanging out and drinking in the dorms, no questions asked.

Or so Riley said. Most of the guys didn't quite believe Herb was as laid back as Riley made it sound. This was part of the reason some of the guys still didn't like her at all. The ones that thought she lied for attention also thought Riley was immature, and those guys didn't want to put up with it. OC was included in this group, along with, surprisingly, Mark Johnson. Mark Johnson was the type of guy that just liked everyone. He was a genuinely nice guy – but he didn't like people that played games and put on an act.

Aside from the two distinct groups that thought of Riley and an annoying sister, and those thought of her as an annoying pain in the ass, there was another smaller group of guys that had more than platonic feelings for the teenager. Actually, it was one guy. Mac had developed the biggest, cutest, school boy crush on Riley. No one could understand it, and at times, no one knew if Mac himself even understood it, but it was really obvious – except to Riley. And she was pretty oblivious. Riley was oblivious to the fact that there were groups at all, because she thought she was well liked by the guys.

_If Riley ever knew what we said when she wasn't around,_ Bah thought, _it would be a rude awakening._

One thing Riley wasn't oblivious to however was Silky feelings. He was in the group that thought of her as a sister. Someone else's sister though. Silky wanted Riley so bad, it was a game to him. Most of the guys thought he was being absolutely ridiculous, and many thought Silky was now just keeping it up because he wanted to prove to his friends and teammates he could.

Surprisingly enough, Mac didn't care too much that Silky made moves on Riley all of the time. He wasn't jealous because he never thought anything would happen between them anyway. He thought Riley would see through Silky before it was too late. Besides that, although Mac flirted with and liked Riley, he knew the flirting would never go anywhere, because he knew he would never make a move.

Riley began collecting towels and dirty clothes from the guys as they were heading up to the team meeting. She was on her way out the door when OC stopped her.

"Strawberry shortcake, heads up," he said, and as Riley looked over, he tossed her a towel.

"What did you call me?" Riley asked, letting the towel hit the ground.

"Strawberry shortcake," OC replied. "Got a problem with that?"

"Why did you call me that?" she asked, either getting angry or ready to cry, no one looking at her could tell which.

"Uh, red hair. You're short," OC stated. OC was attempting to take Rizzo's advice to try to be nice to her, which is why he even gave her a nickname. He knew he couldn't go on hating Riley forever, so he gave her a nickname, hoping to speed the process of becoming 'friendlier' along.

"Don't call me that," Riley said, without an explanation, picking up the towel from the floor and throwing it in the bin.

"Why not?" OC asked.

"Because I fucking _said_ so," Riley said, with more of an attitude than anyone had ever seen her with.

OC just glared at her. He was pissed. She wasn't going to tell him what to do like that. Especially when he was doing it to be nice. Riley left the locker room before OC could say anything though.

"Bitch!" he said after she was gone.

"Leave her alone, OC," Rizzo said.

"Why? She's such a baby. I give her a harmless nickname, and she can't handle it. All of us have nicknames."

"Maybe she thought you were making fun of her," Pav said.

"So? We all make fun of each other. Rizzo doesn't cry when we make fun of his meatballs," OC said seriously, causing a few guys to laugh. "If Riley wants to be around us as much as she is, she has to learn to deal with it. Why does everyone seem to defend the brat anyway?"

"Look, OC, I don't like her all that much either," Mark Johnson piped up. "But I don't go around making trouble either. If you can't tolerate her, just ignore her, like me. Just leave her alone, OC."

"Well, you're too nice," OC said, knowing he couldn't 'just ignore her' like Mr. Nice Guy Mark Johnson.

"No, I think you just have a problem," Mark spoke up, speaking his mind for once.

"A problem?" OC asked, amused.

"You don't let anything go."

"I just don't appreciate or tolerate people that cheat, or people that act better than other people for no apparent reason."

"Oh, OC," Mac started, taking the "people that cheat" as a hit on him and '76 again. "Fine, I'll admit it! Maybe it was a nasty hit. But it's part of the game. Deal with it." Then Mac continued, "Jesus, it wasn't fucking cheating!"

"I wasn't talking about you, ass," OC said dryly. "We were talking about Riley."

"But you had to throw the cheating card in there, didn't you?"

"Leave it alone, Mac," Buzz warned him. Buzz was afraid of where this was going. They didn't need another fight. A locker room brawl wouldn't go over well with Herb.

"Riley thinks she's better than and above everyone else," OC said. "I don't let things like that slide."

"How is that different from you?" Pav asked, wondering, but not really wanting to get involved. He didn't want OC to blow up over this. Luckily OC smiled.

"I'm good at hockey. I'm also good at getting women. And I'm hot. I'm not afraid to admit any of it. Maybe I'm cocky." OC smiled as Rizzo gave him a look. "Okay, not maybe. I'm definitely cocky. But there's a difference from being confident-cocky and being an all around snob."

"I hear ya there," Pav said, agreeing with him. "But I don't think she's snobby."

"I think all the Boston guys would agree with me, Riley's a stuck up snob."

"Yeah she is," Rizzo agreed. The other guys from Boston all nodded in agreement too. "Half the people in Boston are snobs. It's an east coast thing."

"More like a rich people thing," Silky corrected him. "No offense to the rest of you, but farm people aren't really rich."

"We didn't all grow up on farms," Mac pointed out.

"Well, you're all from the Midwest. It might as well all be farmland."

"Exactly why I said it's an east coast thing," Rizzo said again.

"Chicago's in the Midwest!" Buzz yelled out, in case they all forgot, which seemingly they had.

"Whatever!" a few guys yelled back.

"Anyway," OC cut in. "The point is that we really get the vibe that Riley thinks she's better than us."

"She doesn't treat us like that though," Mac said to no one in particular.

"Maybe OC just gets that vibe because she hates him," Pav suggested. Only Mac heard him.

"Okay, OC," Buzz said. "Point taken, but can you please just be a little more… cordial?"

"I can try," OC said as he cracked a smile. "But I'm not making any promises."

* * *

The next day, the guys had a short morning skate followed by team meetings all day. Herb wanted them to rest up a little before their trip. As soon as they got to Europe, their strenuous schedule would begin. By three, Herb dismissed them and told them to be at the bus by nine the next morning. The guys all went to the locker room to gather their stuff before leaving for the day. They were putting their equipment on the bus that afternoon so that they would have less to think about in the morning. Riley came in the locker room to wish them luck before their trip.

"Oh, look who it is," OC said. "Strawberry shortcake." Buzz just glared at him, silently saying, 'Not this again.'

"I asked you not to call me Strawberry Shortcake," Riley told OC.

"No, you _told_ me not to call you that. You never asked. At least, not nicely."

"Fine," Riley said, glaring. "_Please_ don't call me that."

OC could have said something about the attitude again, but instead ignored it and asked, "Why? The name fits. Like I already explained… your hair's red, you're short... so why not?"

"Because I don't like it," Riley answered flatly.

"What if I said I don't care?" OC challenged. He was just teasing her and didn't see why she was making such a big deal out of it. Maybe if she stopped whining about it, he'd stop calling her that.

"You're an ass, OC."

"And you're a bitch," OC said back. "Maybe we should call you Strawberry Short Bitch instead." Riley just gave him a glare and walked out of the locker room.

"Why are you so mean to her, OC?" Mac asked.

"Why are you so nice?" he shot back.

"Cause he slept with her," Buzz commented.

"I did not!" Mac said in defense.

"But you want to."

"Shut the hell up Buzz!" Mac said, smacking Buzz in the arm, and practically knocking him down.

"It's true," Buzz said in his defense.

"And we all know it," Rammer chimed in.

"So what? At least I want to sleep with her because I like her. That's more than you can say about Silky." It was no use trying to tell the guys he didn't want to sleep with Riley, because no one believed him, so Mac just stopped trying.

"Yeah, about that," Silky started, laughing. "The act is getting tough to keep up. I can barely stand pretending anymore. The only reason I'm still even trying is because there aren't any other girls worth it here, and I want some ass soon."

"You mean you haven't slept with anyone since you left Boston?" Bah asked, shocked.

"Um, I never said that," Silky said. "I met a really nice girl after tryouts in Colorado. _Really_ nice," Silky emphasized. "And since then… well, let's just say the last month has been hard on me."

The guys laughed before Silky continued.

"She's so God damn annoying though. I really cannot wait to just sleep with her so I don't have to flatter her with lame compliments anymore."

"I'm confused," Verchota said. "Remind me again why you are bothering? If you can't stand her…"

"Silky has to be the first to be with any given girl. He's afraid someone else might get to her first," Rizzo commented.

"You don't make any sense at all," Bah commented.

As the guys were leaving the locker room, Buzz stopped OC.

"Look man, Riley's gone through a rough time. Can't you let her be?" Buzz asked.

"When she starts being nicer, and asks me nicely, or at least explains to me _herself_ why she doesn't want to be called that, I'll stop. Until then, she's Strawberry Shortcake to me."

"Please OC?" asked Buzz.

"Look Buzz. I was trying to be nice earlier. I always call my friends by nicknames. I call my little sister 'Shorty' all the time. My friend, Maureen from high school, is 'Curly Q' because of her Irish dancing hair. My friend Brian from high school is 'the Bishop' because until college he never so much as kissed a girl. You get the idea. That's how I do things. People don't get nicknames from me if I hate them."

"Okay, I get it. I think I might know why Riley doesn't like the nickname though. But it's not really my place to tell you. Do you think you could ask her? Maybe if you two are alone or something?"

"Sure, Buzz," OC said, sincerely, even though he wasn't sure he actually would. Annoying Riley was way too much fun. She took things so seriously. Besides that, although her attitude was annoying as hell, OC was beginning to appreciate her for it. It made her more fun to be around. _Of course, that's only because it made it more fun to piss her off,_ OC thought with a smirk.

* * *

That night, Mac, Bah, Pav, and Rammer decided to go out for a beer their last night in the country. It was mainly because they were all packed and had nothing to do. Silky, OC, Christian, and Verchota also went out, but they decided to go to a movie instead.

The four guys that went to the bar decided to invite Riley, mainly because Emma couldn't go. Bah invited Emma first, but she turned him down because she had a grad school orientation event to go to. Bah also invited Kristen, because he wanted to see her before he left.

Everyone arrived at about the same time even though Bah and Kristen drove separately from the rest of the group. Kristen and Riley lived in different directions from the bar so it was easier to take separate cars.

"Guys, this is Kristen," Bah said, introducing them to a tall girl with long dirty blonde hair.

"No wonder he's never brought you out before. He's afraid someone would try to steal you away," Rammer commented, thinking Kristen was pretty.

Kristen just laughed. "And you are?"

"Mike," Rammer said, sticking out his right hand to shake hers.

"Also known as Rammer," Bah said, cutting in. "And this is Mac," he added, pointing to Mac. "And you already know Pav. And last but not least is Riley. She's Herb's niece and is helping with the team."

"Nice to meet you guys," Kristen said. "And girl," she added, looking at Riley.

The group grabbed a table and Bah went up to get the beer. As everyone enjoyed their beer, conversation came easily between Kristen and everyone else. She was just the type that could carry on a conversation with anyone. A little while later, Mac and Riley went up to get another round of drinks and Bah took the opportunity to ask Kristen what she thought about Riley. He thought Kristen seemed to be getting along with her well enough, but then again, Riley also seemed different compared to her usual self that night. Bah might have even gone as far as to say she was acting more mature. Maybe it was only because she wasn't trying to impress anyone. She was flirting quite a bit with Mac, but she acted differently around him than she did around Silky. Bah thought that Riley just felt the need to impress Silky, whereas with Mac, Riley clearly didn't feel like she needed to impress him. Bah knew that Riley didn't need to impress Mac either. Mac liked her either way.

"Kristen, what do you think of Riley?" Bah asked, his questioning getting Pav's attention too because he was also curious.

"What do you mean?"

"Just… what do you think of her?" Bah asked again.

"She's fine. What I am supposed to be saying?" Kristen asked, wondering why Bah cared what she thought.

"Well, it's just that some of the guys on the team don't like her very much. They think she's stuck up or something."

"I don't think she's stuck up. I mean, I'm not going to start calling her to hang out, but it's not like I want to leave right now because she's here."

"So she's just tolerable?" Bah asked.

"That's what most of the guys think," Pav explained.

"Sure. She's tolerable. I don't mind her that much."

"I think she's better when she's with a smaller group," Rammer said.

"I think it might have to do with the people here tonight," Bah said.

"She's getting pretty cozy with Mac though," Rammer pointed out.

Everyone looked over to the bar where Riley and Mac were standing. They were talking and flirting, and the guys left at the table began thinking the beer refills were forgotten.

"It's too bad you're not going with us," Mac started. "Any way Herb will change his mind?"

"Nope."

"You could sneak on the plane tomorrow. I'm sure someone could fit you in their suitcase," Mac said, joking.

"Yeah and Herb would have a fit," Riley said, laughing.

"Your mom would probably have a fit too," Mac said, hearing Riley tell Bah earlier that it was basically her mom that didn't want her going.

"I don't care if my mom gets mad. She'd get over it," Riley said nonchalantly.

"Do you not get along with your mom?" Mac asked, curious because it seemed that Riley always blamed her mother for things and never seemed to care what she thought.

"Not really. Not anymore at least. But I don't want to talk about her anymore," Riley said, inching closer to Mac, hoping he would drop it. "And on that note, I think I need another drink."

Mac caught the bartender's attention and got another two pitchers of beer. While they were waiting Mac commented on the music playing that night.

"Whoever's playing those songs on the juke box has really bad taste in music."

"Yeah, I'll say. I hate Sister Sledge. It's way, way too overplayed."

"Yeah. Every time I turn on the radio it's on," Mac agreed. "What's your favorite?" Mac then asked.

"It's hard to say. Right now I love AC/DC's new album 'Highway to Hell'."

"You got it?" Mac asked, surprised. It was only released in July.

"Yeah, two days after it came out. I've been playing it almost nonstop."

"I like AC/DC. I also really like Van Halen and Eric Clapton. Basically anything rock."

"We should go pick out some songs," Riley suggested.

After Mac gave the bartender the money and tip, Mac and Riley headed back to the table to set down the beer before heading to the juke box.

"Let's play YMCA," Mac suggested.

"God no!" Riley said, appalled.

"What's wrong with the Village People?" Mac asked, trying to sound serious.

"Overplayed," Riley said.

"But your Highway to Hell album isn't?" Mac joked.

"You can overplay awesome music, but when you overplay okay songs, they become annoying."

Mac just laughed.

"If you really want to play it though, I'll just leave," Riley said, pretending to be serious.

"No way, I don't want you leave," Mac said seriously, looking Riley right in the eyes.

"Good, because I don't want to leave either." Riley then added, "Unless it's with you." Riley added this because she wanted to see how Mac would react. She had been getting signals from him all night, but didn't know whether he actually felt anything. Riley also didn't know how she felt. She liked Mac, but she wasn't sure that she liked him more than Silky. Riley was so confused, but she decided she would just let whatever happen, happen. Besides, Riley was getting a little tired waiting for Silky to make a move. Riley noticed that so far, Silky stopped at flirting. It was always very suggestive flirting, but that was it.

"Want to dance?" Mac asked.

"Did you notice that there's no dance floor?" Riley wondered out loud.

"That's okay. We can start a trend," Mac said with a smile.

"You pick the song. And make it a good one," Riley added.

Mac chose 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy' by Rod Stewart.

Riley started laughing at the song choice as it came over the speakers and Mac was walking toward her.

"What?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"You picked this?" Riley laughed. "I don't think I can dance to this."

"Sure you can," Mac said. As Mac and Riley began dancing somewhat awkwardly to the beat, Mac began singing.

"If you want my body and you think I'm sexy, come on sugar let me know."

As the song went on, Riley and Mac got more into it and found a regular rhythm. They moved to the beat and Mac pulled Riley closer and closer as the song progressed. After the last \verse, Riley responded to Mac's singing.

"Yes I think you're sexy," Riley said as she moved wrapped her arms tighter behind his neck to be pulled even closer. Mac's hands that were resting on her hips moved behind Riley and into the back pockets of her jeans.

"What song's next?" Riley asked, not needing to speak above a whisper because Mac's face was inches away from hers.

"You pick this time," he said. Before Riley responded, Mac asked, "What's in your pocket?" as he pulled out a folded up piece of paper.

"Nothing!" Riley said as she grabbed it from him. Riley quickly stuffed the note back into her pocket.

"Nothing?" Mac said. "Wow, 'nothing' sure got you to take that away fast."

"It's just," Riley started, then decided not to tell him. "It's nothing."

Mac noticed there was now a little tension lingering between him and Riley. He wasn't sure what the piece of paper was, but it was clear Riley didn't want him to know about it.

"It was a secret love note to me wasn't it?" Mac said, in attempt to lighten the suddenly tense atmosphere.

"That's it exactly," Riley said. She turned to go play another song on the juke box. Mac wondered what she would pick.

After a minute of deciding, Riley pressed a button and walked back towards Mac and their makeshift dance floor. No one else in the bar seemed to notice the two dancing, except for their friends of course. At the table, they were talking about what they think would happen between Mac and Riley that night. Rammer thought Mac was going to get lucky, but Pav and Bah didn't because they knew neither was drunk enough for anything to happen. Kristen tried explaining that with all the flirting they were doing, it wouldn't matter if they were drunk or not.

Back on the dance floor 'Good Girls Don't' - a new song by Knack, began playing. This song was not only easier to dance to, but also a lot more suggestive than the last one. Their friends at the table noticed the increasing physical contact between the two and thought they might start making out on the dance floor if the song didn't end soon.

"If it was any other girl out there, I'd say get a room," Pav commented. "But I don't want to give them any ideas."

"Any ideas?" Rammer scoffed. "I think they're way past ideas."

Luckily, the song ended moments later and the two stopped dancing.

"Thank God, they're coming back to the table," Rammer said.

"Is there any way we can separate them?" Pav said, joking.

"We'll be outside," Mac said, surprising them as him and Riley walked past the table and toward the door.

"Shit," Rammer said. "How much do you want to bet they'll be leaving together?"

Outside, Riley and Mac sat on a ledge that was going around the perimeter of the bar. They sat close, and Mac's left arm was around Riley's lower back.

"You're a good dancer," Riley told Mac, making conversation.

"I've had some practice." Mac paused, trying to decide whether to continue. "My mom made e take these stupid ballroom dancing lessons when I was 13. They weren't just ballroom dancing though – we learned all different types of dancing. At the time, I was so mad at my mom. It was so embarrassing. But now I'm sort of thankful she made me take them. Everyone always says I'm a good dancer."

Riley smiled. "I have two left feet. Maybe you should give me some lessons."

"You do not," Mac said. "You were dancing fine."

Riley didn't answer, but instead just smiled and leaned into Mac, shaking her head as if she didn't believe him.

"But if you really want lessons, I could probably work something out," Mac said, smiling.

"I think I'd like that," Riley said, looking up at Mac. They locked eyes and both were searching for the same sign. A few seconds later, Mac leaned into Riley's face and began kissing her. It started off gentle, with Mac barely touching Riley's lips. Riley deepened the kiss, pulling Mac's shirt so he would be even closer. The kiss became more passionate and as Mac and Riley continued making out, Riley was practically lying on the ledge with Mac on top of her.

As they were kissing, thoughts of Silky began running through Riley's mind. She tried to push them out and focus on Mac, but it was tough. She wondered what Silky would think if he found out that Mac and her were making out. Would he be jealous? Would he make a move on her faster if he knew? As Mac's tongue slipped into Riley's mouth, her thoughts of Silky immediately vanished. _What did Mac want?_ Riley wondered. _Did he want more than kissing? Was he waiting for me to ask to go somewhere more private?_

While Riley was trying to figure Mac out, he was thinking about Riley. He thought she was a good kisser. Mac was pretty sure Riley still didn't know her effect on him. More than anything he wanted to pull away and ask her to come back to his room. _Why don't I? _he wondered. Then, the song that Riley chose earlier began replaying in his head.

_Adolescent dream… fantasize a way… get into her pants…good girls don't, but I do._

_I can't do this,_ Mac thought. _She's seventeen. Technically still a child._ He pulled away and broke the kiss.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Riley asked, her face telling Mac she was more than willing.

"No. Riley, I can't do this. _We_ can't do this." Regret showed on Mac's face. He wanted to.

"We can do anything you want," Riley said trying to sound suggestive.

"No, we can't," Mac said seriously, almost as if trying to stay strong and remind himself why not.

"Why?" Riley said, sounding angry.

"Because you're seventeen."

"So?"

"I can't take advantage of you like that."

"It wouldn't be taking advantage if I agreed."

"Yes it would."

"Mac, please," Riley said, almost begging him.

"No, Riley," Mac said seriously, looking deeply into her eyes, trying to convince her that she didn't want anything either.

"You're a jerk!" Riley said, jumping off the ledge so she was now standing.

"Riley, I'm sorry," Mac said sincerely.

"So what? You were going to make out with me, but that's it? Now, suddenly, I'm too young for you? I don't get it, Mac."

"I can't let anything happen. You think you want me, but you don't. You'll never get it back," Mac said, Riley assuming he was talking about her virginity.

"I'm not a virgin," Riley said, trying to get Mac to change his mind.

"I'm not sleeping with you," Mac said, now getting angry himself. He didn't understand why Riley was so mad that he wouldn't sleep with her. Before tonight, he was sure she was starting to like Silky. _Now, all of a sudden, she wants to sleep with me._ _Why?_

Riley was upset. She wanted to go back to Mac's room. She thought Mac liked her. _If he likes me, why won't he sleep with me?_ Riley felt like no one wanted her. She wasn't good enough for anyone, and she was lonely. She just wanted someone to love her and show her they care.

"I'm leaving," Riley said, starting to walk away.

"Not by yourself you're not," Mac said.

"Yes, I am!"

Mac grabbed Riley's wrist. "I'm not letting you walk home."

Before any more arguing could ensue, the group still inside came out because they were all ready to head home for the night. They immediately noticed the tension between Mac and Riley, but didn't know what had happened.

Everyone ended up riding home, but the individuals in the cars were mixed up compared to when they came. Mac rode with Bah and Kristen, and Riley rode with Pav and Rammer. Neither guy was about to ask Riley what was wrong, and it didn't matter much to them, because they knew they would get the story from Mac eventually.

A/N: Okay, please review! Also, if you think the end seems weird (the whole thing with Riley really wanting to sleep with Mac) just remember everything that Riley has gone through with losing her dad. That's the main reason she acts the way she does, (the other reason you'll see soon). Riley's mind set will play an important role a couple chapters from now, and the end of this chapter sets that up. I'll try to update again soon – possibly Saturday.


	8. Chapter 7: Adventures in Europe

dogdaysareover: Thanks, glad you liked the chapter. And you'll just have to wait and see about Riley and Mac. Things will be getting very interesting soon!

NellieBly413672: Yeah, she is young… Interesting things are coming though… stayed tuned, lol. Glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing!

LTJM: Glad you liked it! Thanks so much for the review!

A/N: This one's a short one, and more like a filler chapter. Only the guys are in this one, and it focuses on their Europe trip. The hockey stuff is all fact (where and when the games were played, as well as wins and losses mentioned), but everything else is completely my own creativity. Also, I want to point out that I know nothing about these cities except for what websites told me, so sorry if you've been there and something's inaccurate. I figured they had to have some fun while they were there, which is why I added this stuff in. Anyway, enjoy.

**Chapter 7: Adventures in Europe **

Bright and early the next morning, the team boarded the bus to get to the airport. At this point, Pav and Rammer decided to try to get Mac to tell them whatever happened the previous night.

"Did Mac take a girl home?" Silky asked, overhearing the guys.

"Almost," Rammer said, not mentioning that the girl was Riley.

"Well I did take a girl home," he said.

"Didn't you go see a movie?" Bah asked.

"Yep," Silky said, looking satisfied.

"Silky's the only guy I've ever known that can pick up a girl anywhere he goes," Jimmy commented. "Literally, _anywhere_."

"What movie did you go see?" Rammer wondered.

"It was a scary one. She was there with a couple friends and needed someone to 'keep her safe'."

"We kept them all safe but unfortunately, Silky was the only one to get lucky," OC said.

"Well, Mac almost took Riley home," Pav said, a little too loudly for Mac's liking.

"Shut up!" Mac said loudly. "Herb is on this bus too!" he added in a loud whisper, as if they needed a reminder.

"Too scared to take her home then?" Silky asked, laughing.

"No. Not too scared," Mac said, rolling his eyes. "We made out, it was heated, but I couldn't do that to her. It's not right."

"Since when are you all moral?" Silky wondered, thinking that up until yesterday, Mac wanted to sleep with Riley.

"Look, I'm not sleeping with some teenager just because she's begging me to."

"She begged you to sleep with her?" Silky asked, looking amused.

"It's because you're not making a move," Verchota said. Both Silky and Mac glared at him, telling him that he wasn't part of the conversation.

"She won't have to beg me," Silky said, smiling smugly at Mac.

* * *

A while later, the team was on a plane to Europe. Most of the guys had never been to Europe before, so they were really excited. Although they would be playing a lot of hockey, they were going to be doing a few other things as a team too. They were going to get to see a lot of castles and churches, along with other sites in the cities. In Holland, they had one day off and the whole team including Herb, Doc, and Coach Patrick, went to one of the famous Holland castles, Duivenvoorde Castle. They had a lot of fun walking around, although a few of the guys got lost. Verchota, Silky, Bah, Pav, and Buzz decided to leave the tour group and check the place out on their own. After the team was finished in the castle and ready to board the bus, someone noticed the five that went missing, and they spent an hour searching for them. Herb wasn't too happy when they were finally found, but at dinner that night, everyone, including Herb, was laughing about it.

The night after the team played Karpat, they spent their day off in Oulu, Finland and went shopping in Market Square. Most of the guys had family members, friends, or significant others to get souvenirs for, so that was the perfect opportunity.

"I really want to get my mom this crystal vase, but I know I'll break it if I try to take it home," Verchota said.

"I got Kristen a little crystal bird thing," Bah said. "I didn't even think about the breakage factor."

"The 'not' girlfriend?" Verchota asked with a smile.

"Well, she's not my girlfriend, but I thought about getting this for her anyway. I really like her, but it's hard because neither of us has a lot of time to start an exclusive relationship right now."

"Okay, whatever, man," Verchota replied, thinking there was more to Bah's story than he was admitting.

"Wrap it in your hockey pads. It'll be safe there," Mac suggested.

"Why don't you just give it to Rizzo? That's what I did," said OC with a grin. "He'll make sure it doesn't break."

"Good idea!" Verchota and Bah said in unison. "Let's go find him," added Bah.

Verchota then stopped and turned around. "Hey OC. Who are you getting that for?" Verchota asked, referring to the crystal he said he gave Rizzo.

"Someone."

"Who's_ someone_?" Bah asked, raising his eyebrows.

"None of your damn business," OC replied, not sounding upset at being asked, but definitely sounding serious about not telling them.

* * *

The team's last game in Finland was against Jokerit in Helsinki. That game was their second loss of eight in their trip thus far. It was a pretty hard fought game, but Herb changed the line up a bit, so they were sort of out of their element. After that game, the team got to experience Helsinki nightlife.

"The girls here are unbelievable," Bah commented in one of the clubs they went to that night.

"I wonder what Kristen would think about that," responded Rammer, half joking. He knew they weren't exclusive, but because Bah was so adamant about not being exclusive, he liked to tease Bah.

"I wonder if they understand English?" wondered Mac.

"Give it a try," said Silky.

"I need wingmen with me," Mac joked. He was sometimes pretty awkward and wasn't very good at initiating conversation with random strangers. Especially when he was unsure if they were fluent in English.

"I'll go with you," Silky said. Verchota joined them too. With all of the team bonding the guys were doing this trip, it would almost seem like the guys would consider themselves more than a team and actual friends, but there were still a few, namely OC, that still wouldn't admit it. It was also a little strange, because Silky and Mac, who really only had a slight problem with each other as far as their attempted conquest of Riley was concerned, had no problems the entire trip. Silky didn't try to compete with Mac at all, and besides that, Riley's name wasn't mentioned once, which was really good for the guys. It was obvious that some needed that break.

The conversation the guys attempted to have with the Finnish girls was a little difficult. The girl had two friends with her, one of which could speak some broken English. Silky was lucky enough to be sort of paired up with her.

"So, you're studying English in school?" Silky asked while the two were dancing. She was hot, and Silky wanted to gauge how much she knew.

"Yes," she said, smiling at Silky. Then, she spoke again, in broken English. "I know _you_ want. I know _I_ want."

Silky continued looking at her, trying to guess if she was really going where he thought she was going with her conversation attempt. She continued.

"Ahh, how you say…" she started, thinking, "I like - anything. We go?" As she said this, she rubbed her hands all over Silky's chest.

"I think I would like that," Silky said, beaming.

* * *

The next morning, Bah woke up with a headache, neck ache, and backache. He was on the floor in Mac and OC's room.

"I'm never letting Silky do that to me again," Bah said. The night before, Silky told the guys he was 'getting lucky like a kid on Christmas,' and didn't want any interruptions. This included interruptions from his road roommate, Bah. Their road roommates were mixed up compared to their normal roommates. Herb thought rooming with different guys would help them bond. Since Bah didn't have a room, he slept on Mac and OC's floor.

"At least you had a pillow," OC said.

"Yeah, really," Mac agreed. "It could have been worse."

* * *

That day, the guys had the full day to themselves in Finland before heading onto Norway. It was a really beautiful day, and unusually warm, so Herb decided a trip to Nuuksio National Park would be good for them. No one on the team knew it, but Herb's reason for having them do so many group activities on off days was so that they would bond as a team. They spent the day hiking and exploring the park, enjoying themselves and being with each other. OC, Rizzo, Jimmy, and Buzz rented some fishing equipment and tested the waters. They taught Rammer and Mac how to fish, and gave them both a hard time about growing up in Minnesota and not knowing how to fish.

"How could you clowns not know how to fish?" OC commented. "You only grew up in the 'Land of a Thousand Lakes'."

"OC, how could you not learn to say your R's? You only grew up in Boston," Mac shot back, teasing him.

"Umm, Mac, that doesn't work," Buzz said laughing.

"No?" he asked, not quite getting why.

"Mac, you're an idiot," OC told him, talking about fishing. "You're doing it wrong. Give me that," OC said, and grabbed the fishing pole. As he was explaining to Mac how to use it, Rammer caught his first fish.

"I got one!" he said. "I got one!" Rammer was so excited, he didn't know what to do.

"Reel it in," said Jimmy.

"I can't," Rammer said, trying.

"Wimp," Buzz teased him. Jimmy helped Rammer reel the fish in.

"What are we having for dinner boys?" Herb asked, walking up to them with a smile on his face.

"Looks like salmon," Mac said when Rammer pulled his fish out of the water.

"At least you know what they look like," OC said, joking.

* * *

Next the team was onto Norway, where they finished their Europe trip. In Oslo, they had one day off before they played the Norwegian National team for the first of two times. They had practice that day, but after that everyone went to Akershus Fortress. It was one of the most famous fortresses in Norway and everyone was impressed by how big it was.

"This was supposedly built in 1624 and is a well recognized national symbol," Mark Johnson said when Verchota asked who lives in it. "Kings sat here and it was also a government center. And it currently houses the Royal Mausoleum," he added matter-of-factly.

"Thank you for the history lesson, Mr. Smarty Pants," Silky said.

"How did you know about all of that?" asked Verchota, dumbfounded that Mark knew all of that information.

"How do you not know it?" Mac cut in, teasing him. He was totally joking because even he didn't know how Mark knew the information. "Did you learn anything in school?" he added.

"I read the plaque on the way in," Mark said easily.

Verchota snorted a laugh. "You read it?"

"Yeah," Mark said, shrugging. "It was interesting."

OC stepped in and joined in the conversation. "Did you read the other one about how it was used as a prison from 1900 to 1950, and it was used by the German army in World War II?" OC asked him.

"Yeah, that was something," Mark agreed.

Verchota looked at the two of them like they had two heads. Then he said, "Okay, I need to go hang out with the cooler people now."

"They used to throw people in prison for not knowing how to read," OC yelled ahead to where Verchota was now with Rammer, Pav, and Buzz.

* * *

After a day of fun, the guys had to prepare for the game the following day. They had two games on back to back nights to finish their trip. After the eight games so far, and all kinds of sightseeing, most of the team was incredibly tired. For as much fun as they had in Europe, they were all ready to go home. Most missed the American style of food the most, but they also missed their normal routines and daily activities aside from hockey. No one felt like playing in the game that night, and by the end of the first period, it was really apparent to Herb. They tied Norway that night, and after the game the team was forced to skate Herbies for what seemed like days on end. Most couldn't understand why Herb was making them continue. They hadn't even lost. Deep down however, most of the team knew they hadn't played their hardest that night. Not even close to their hardest. And although they almost ended the trip on a bad note, with their big shutout win and nine goals the next night, the team decided that whatever lesson Herb wanted them to learn was indeed, well learned, and they finished the trip just fine.


	9. Chapter 8: The Boys are Back in Town

Anika24Ambroze: I'm glad you like it so far. And you'll find out who Riley woke up with fairly soon. My guess is about five chapters. Okay, maybe that sounds far away, lol, but I promise it will happen. I have it all planned out. And thanks so much for reviewing. Also, as for stories with Rizzo as a main character… I feel like there has to be something out there, seeing as he is the captain, and he's also a really cute guy , but I can't think of any off the top of my head. Maybe someone else reading this will be able to give input, or if I end up thinking of any, I'll let you know. Another thought is that maybe you could write one. It's a lot of fun writing the stories! I was hesitant before posting my first one, (I started writing it a while before I had the courage to post, lol) but I'm really glad I did! If you are interested but want input or tips, let me know and I'll message you. Thanks again!

NellieBly413672: Thanks so much for the review! I'm glad you liked just having the guys in the chapter, and their team bonding stuff. I knew that the Pens played in Europe and went on to win the cup, but I didn't know that about the Blackhawks. I guess Europe really does have a positive effect on teams. If that's what it takes, maybe the Sabres should start off their season in Europe! lol

LTJM: Thanks for the review; I'm glad you liked it. Enjoy the chapter!

A/N: Here's another chapter. Again, this one is kind of short, but the next chapter will be a big and important one. Please R and R!

**Chapter 8: The Boys are Back in Town**

They guys were given a day off after returning to Minnesota from Europe for some much needed recuperation. By now, they were all really starting to come together, as a team both on and off the ice. Although they each still had their good friends, and there were groups of guys that consistently hung out, on any given day different guys could be seen with almost anyone else on the team.

Even Mac and OC were talking on a more regular basis now. They would often be seen talking and teasing one another, joking back and forth like everyone else. OC honestly never thought he'd see the day, or ever admit it, but when he really thought about it, Mac wasn't that bad.

By six that night, the guys were well rested and some were in the mood to go out. Silky, Mac, OC, and Verchota all decided to grab a few beers at a nearby bar. OC convinced Rizzo and Rammer to come along and be designated drivers. Neither wanted to drink that night, but both wanted to get out. Verchota also tried to convince his roommate to come along.

"You should come, Bah. I don't think we're staying out that late because we have a really early practice tomorrow," Verchota said, thinking Bah was still tired from the trip home.

"I want to go, but I promised Emma I would hang out with her tonight. I haven't seen her in two weeks, and she wants to hear all about Europe."

"Let me get this straight. You're going to see Emma, your _platonic_ best _friend_ before seeing Kristen, your _girlfriend_?"

Bah didn't bother correcting the 'girlfriend' remark. "Kristen's visiting her grandparents in Florida until tomorrow. We're going out tomorrow night, if you must know."

"Bring Emma along," Verchota said. "Tonight, I mean."

"I don't know…" started Bah. "But I guess I could give her a call."

Emma jumped at the chance to hang out with the guys. Bah thought it was a little weird, but didn't say anything about it. Back in college, Emma would occasionally get upset if Bah wanted her to hang out with the guys. She thought Bah would rather be with them and just dragged her along to be nice. Being excited about a change in plans like this was very unusual for Emma.

That night, Rammer drove Bah and Verchota, picking Emma up from her apartment on the way, and Rizzo drove Mac, OC, and Silky.

"Did you change or were you going to wear that to the movie?" Bah asked Emma about her outfit when she got in the car. She was wearing jeans with a 'going out' tank top and black patent leather platform heels.

"No I changed," Emma said. "So who's all going?"

"Uh, besides us, not too many," Bah began. "Rizzo, Mac, Silky, and OC."

Luckily for Emma, Bah didn't notice her face light up when he mentioned OC. After not seeing the guys for two weeks, Emma realized she really liked OC. She hadn't had a crush like this in a couple years. It reminded her of being in high school, but Emma knew this was more than some stupid high school crush. Emma really thought OC liked her too. He was always so flirty. Minutes later, the group arrived at the bar, just as the other car load was walking in the door.

OC was holding the door and continued holding it for second car load of people, then walking in right behind Emma, who had been last in line.

"Thanks Jack," Emma said with a big smile.

"Yeah, sure," OC replied, with no real expression on his face.

After everyone sat at a table, Silky and Mac went up to the bar to get beer. Neither had seen, nor even spoken to Riley since they returned from Europe, and Silky decided to tease his friend about it.

"Are you excited to see your little crush tomorrow, Mac?" Silky asked, clearly teasing him. Mac played along.

"Yeah, I bet you're excited too. You can continue with your attempt at seducing her."

"Oh I will," Silky said, nodding. After a pause he said, "Hey Mac?"

"Yeah?"

"No hard feelings if I get her first, right?" Silky asked, serious but with a grin on his face.

"Nah," Mac replied. "Besides, I made out with her first and you don't really like her anyway."

"Doesn't that bother you? That I don't like her."

"Not really," Mac admitted. "Yeah, I think she's hot, but I'm beginning to think that's all there is to it. I don't think I like _her_, ya know?" After the crap she pulled, practically begging him to have sex with her, he was really turned off. The more he thought about it, the crazier he thought she was. _Who does that?_ he wondered, remembering that night.

"Sure man. I get it." Then Silky asked, "So, what'd you get her as a souvenir?"

Mac just laughed, knowing Silky was kidding.

After the bartender brought them the three pitchers of beer they ordered and a stack of glasses, the guys made their way back to their seats.

After a while of sitting and talking, a few people began getting bored. Emma and Mac decided to get a game of pool going. It was decided that Emma and OC would play against Mac.

"_That" _Silky said, referring to the teams "is a bad idea."

"Yeah, do we really need Mac and OC competing against each other anymore than they need to?" agreed Verchota.

"They'll be fine," Emma assured everyone.

"You don't know the story behind these two," started Verchota.

"Their friends now," Rammer said, speaking up.

"No we're not!" and "We heard that!" were heard from OC and Mac respectively.

After starting their game, it was quickly determined that OC and Emma would be solids. As much as Emma hoped to be on OC's team, now she was a little nervous. Emma wasn't very good at pool, and she hated looking incompetent in front of people, especially a guy she liked.

On her first turn, she scratched. Since OC had his back to the game, talking to the guys still sitting at the table, she didn't think he noticed.

By the time Emma's next turn came around, there were only three balls left for both teams. The guys were really good at pool. Emma completely missed hitting anything, and since OC was watching, she knew he noticed. Normally, Emma would laugh something like this off and make a joke out of it, but she froze up in front of OC.

_This girl sucks at pool,_ OC thought. He didn't really care about winning or losing the game, so it didn't bother him, but Emma was terrible. After first meeting Emma, OC wasn't sure he liked her, because she sort of creeped him out, but he soon realized that Emma just had a very friendly personality. That was further confirmed tonight when OC held the door for her. Emma's response to the door being held was a little much, her flashy smile made it seem like he did more than hold the door, but now he realized that was just how she was. What OC didn't notice though, was that Emma wasn't nearly that nice to everyone else.

By the time Emma's next turn came around, the game was almost over. One solid ball was left on the table, along with the eight ball. Without needing to be told, she knew her turn was make or break.

As she got ready to take her shot, OC stopped her.

"Emma, wait," he said, walking over to her. "Let me help you." OC stood behind Emma and positioned her arms in the right place on the cue. Still standing behind her, with his hands on her hands, he explained exactly what to do.

"Don't move your right hand at all. Make sure it's loose so the cue can slide through." OC had no idea what he was doing to Emma. His hands were burning hers where they touched her skin, his breath on her neck was giving her goose bumps, and most of all, his voice, low and husky, half whispering in her ear, was enough to make her take him right there on the table in front of everyone. Emma just hoped this would be over soon, because she didn't know how much more she could take. She was hardly listening to his instructions anymore, because she couldn't focus on what he was saying at all. Bits and pieces were there, not enough to form anything coherent.

_Get your mind out of the gutter, Emma_, she told herself. _He's not talking about sliding the stick, relaxing, and hitting it hard enough to mean anything aside from the game._

Emma listened to OC and relaxed her arms, and he pushed her left hand to hit the cue to the cue ball. It went perfectly to their remaining solid ball and verged on going in the corner pocket. They got nothing though, as it remained on the table.

"Yes!" Mac shouted. "You cheated and it didn't even help."

"I did not cheat," OC said. "I was just helping Emma. She hit it," OC emphasized.

"With your help," Mac continued. Mac had a turn next and missed getting the eight ball in.

"Dammit, Mac! We could have had that," Rizzo said.

OC took his turn next and won the game, after being set up perfectly by Mac's previous shot. Emma was still too busy recuperating from her last turn to even notice.

"Earth to Emma," Bah said, noticing she was leaving her teammate hanging.

"What?" she asked, looking at her friend. "OC wants a high five."

Emma turned to OC and gave him a five. OC thought she looked almost confused and said, "We just won."

"I know," Emma said, smiling. "Nice game, partner."

"You too. I will say that you could use a little practice though."

Emma smiled again. She could tell OC was being flirty. "Maybe we'll have to practice together then. I could really use a good teacher."

OC laughed and then put his arm around her shoulder. "I need a beer first," he said, steering her over to the table. They sat down next to each other and began sipping their freshly filled glasses.

Bah watched Emma's interaction with OC and couldn't help but be surprised. If Bah told Emma she needed practice, she would have thrown a complete fit and tried to defend herself. She didn't take criticism well - ever. _What was so different about OC's criticism?_ he wondered. It suddenly hit Bah like a ton of bricks. _Emma liked OC! _That was the only thing that would explain how she was acting around him.

The night didn't last much longer after that game of pool, as everyone had an early morning ahead of them. Rammer's car load of people left a few minutes before Rizzo's car load though, because OC and Silky had a half of glass of beer to finish.

Emma went behind OC and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Jack," she started. "Thanks for the pool tips," Emma finished with a smile.

"Yeah, no prob," OC said. He then moved his arm and wrapped it around her back and pulled her close so his friends still at the table wouldn't hear what he had to say next.

"After we practice a few times, we'll play again and kick some serious ass. I think you'll be a pool pro in no time."

Emma just smiled, relishing in OC's comments and having his arm around her. Now she just knew he liked her.

Shortly after the first group left, a cute brunette walked over to the table. She walked right up to OC and immediately had his attention.

"Hey," she began.

"Hey," OC said. No one else bothered saying anything, because the girl was looking directly at OC. "Do I know you?" he asked.

"Not yet," she started. Then she stuck out her hand. "My name's Lisa."

"I'm Jack."

"My friends dared me to introduce myself to the best looking guy here."

"Oh really?" OC said, with a smile of amusement on his face. _This girl is feisty,_ he thought. _And I like it._ "And what brings you over here?" OC asked, trying to sound modest.

"The hottest guy turned me down. You're number two."

OC knew she was joking but played along. He put a hand over his chest. "I'm hurt," he said, feigning sadness.

"You're accent just bumped you up to number one," she said, smiling. "You from Boston?"

"Yeah."

"What brings you to Minnesota?"

"Hockey. I'm on the Olympic team."

Silky corrected him. "We're all on the Olympic team."

"Very impressive," Lisa said with a smile, ignoring Silky and still looking directly at OC. "I should have stopped here first."

"Would you like a drink?" OC asked.

"I'm actually on my way out," she said. "Some other time."

When she said this as a statement and not a question, OC was baffled. _She turned him down. Wasn't she going to ask for his number though? _The way Lisa said 'some other time' made it sound like she wasn't interested. OC was very interested though.

"Wait!" he said, stopping her as she was walking away. She turned back around, trying to hide a smile. "Do you want to go out Saturday night?" OC asked, hopeful.

"Sure," she responded. OC got up to exchange information with her and then Lisa left the bar.

"Nice one, man," Mac started. "Very smooth."

"Are you kidding? She was the smooth one," Silky said. OC nodded in agreement.

"She was definitely cool. Cool and confident. Exactly what I like," OC said, excited for his date Saturday night.


	10. Chapter 9: Good Girls Go Bad

NellieBly413672: Glad you liked it, thanks for the review! You'll see about OC and Lisa's date in the next chapter. Thanks again.

LTJM: You'll see more of Emma soon, and more of Emma and OC soon. Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you like it!

Septembrisms: I'm glad you like it so far. Thanks so much for reviewing! I wanted to make it different from the other fics out there, so I figured Riley being younger and having the guys not like her all that much would do it. There will be more of other characters throughout too. Thanks again!

Dogdaysareover: Glad you liked it. Thanks for reviewing!

A/N: Well, I started school today (Actually, technically yesterday I guess). It's really early, I know, but med school starts early and ends late compared to other colleges and grad schools. I guess they think we have more to learn or something, lol. Anyway, I'm still going to try to update weekly, but the chapters may be a little shorter (they will be comparable to the length of the last couple chapters).

**Chapter 9: Good Girls Go Bad**

The next morning, the guys had practice again. It was sort of different being back in on home ice and having a normal, rigorous, full length practice. Unfortunately, today was a Thursday, so that meant conditioning. The guys prepared themselves for hell and got ready to step onto the ice. Coach Patrick was beginning practice that morning because Herb had a little paperwork to take care of before coming down to the ice.

"Well, you will all be happy that we're not doing all conditioning this morning," Coach Patrick told the 26 guys sitting in front of him.

Cheers erupted from the bench.

"We're doing conditioning this afternoon," Coach Patrick added, and now groans were heard coming from the guys. They knew no conditioning was too good to be true.

"Isn't that like, illegal?" Verchota wondered. "I thought we were supposed to only be here until lunchtime on Thursdays."

"Well, Herb can change the schedule whenever he wants," Coach Patrick explained. "And since you didn't practice yesterday, he's doing double today."

"This is worse than child labor," Morrow commented.

"Don't joke about child labor," Baker said, with a laugh, not serious at all.

"I would have rather practiced yesterday," OC complained.

Other comments voicing the team's dislike were heard, and then Coach Patrick quieted them down.

"Boys, boys… Come on. No more of that. You'll all be happy to know we're supplying lunch, and there is only an hour of conditioning. You'll all be home by three with plenty of time to get ready to go out tonight." Coach Patrick knew the boys well.

"Lunch?" Rizzo asked, ever the hungry one.

"Wait… out by three?" Verchota asked. "I'm no math whiz, but an hour of conditioning and an hour for lunch would mean this practice is going to be excessively long."

"You're conditioning in shifts. Half will be doing something else," Coach Patrick said vaguely. "Practice won't be that much longer than normal, now let's go. On the ice."

The team stepped onto the ice and began practice, first doing a few general skating drills until Herb came down.

The team practiced hard, some hoping that if they gave a really good effort Herb would cancel conditioning that afternoon. They had no such luck though. After lunch, Herb had the first half of the alphabet do conditioning first while the second half of the team was going to be doing something else. The guys still had no idea what this 'something else' was, and although they had guesses, no one guessed right.

They were all surprised to walk into the room usually used for their meetings and see Riley there. The guys hadn't seen her all morning, so this was the first time they saw her since Europe.

"Hey kid," Verchota said, trying to be nice and welcoming. "Long time no see."

"What are we doing today?" Silky asked. Riley waited for the full attention of the 13 guys in the room.

"I now have a more official position in helping with the team," Riley began. "I'm in charge of team building."

"Team building?" OC asked. "Haven't we been 'team building' since day one? Herb's had us do these drills before."

Riley rolled her eyes. "You still need to work on it. That's what we're doing today." After a pause, Riley continued. "I'm sure Herb would love to make you condition for an extra few hours instead if you don't want to listen to me." OC didn't respond and Riley continued. "First we're playing Truth or Lie, to see how well everyone knows each other. The person that wins gets a prize."

"What's the prize?" Mac asked.

"You'll see if you win," Riley responded with a smile.

"How 'bout a date?" Verchota asked, joking.

"Very funny, Casanova." Most of the guys all laughed. Except OC that is.

"This is a stupid waste of time. Who thought of this drill?" OC asked, trying to be difficult.

"Me," Riley said. "Herb put me in charge. Would you rather spend the full time doing conditioning drills?"

"Maybe," OC muttered.

Riley ignored OC and went onto explain the rules. The guys then took turns saying their two truths and a lie while having everyone else guess which the lie was. Riley was just keeping score. She had no interest in joining in. Somehow, Silky ended up winning.

"Nice job," Riley commented. Silky walked over to Riley and stood in front of her. She thought he was waiting for his prize. Instead, before Riley could even say anything, he kissed her.

Everyone in the room saw this and they were all shocked. Silky pulled away after a second, and looked directly at Mac with a smirk. No one knew what to do or say. Riley couldn't form a response either. She had no idea why Silky just kissed her.

"Wasn't that my prize?" Silky asked, when no one else said anything.

"Um, you're getting your prize later," Riley replied, sort of flustered.

"Ooohh, later," Silky said, and winked. "After we all go out to the bar tonight?"

A few guys snickered, but everyone else was still in shock. Riley recovered quickly and played along.

"Yeah, _later_."

The guys went on to play a few more team building games and finished just as their hour was up. Riley let them leave to go get ready for their hour of conditioning, and the first half of the alphabet came in a few minutes later so she could do team building with them.

Riley didn't completely understand why Herb wanted more team building now, because the guys already seemed to be getting along pretty well, but it wasn't her job to ask questions. She remembered Doc saying that her uncle had a reason for everything he did.

QQQQ

The guys didn't go out that night, but they did go out the night after. Herb let them out early on Friday and was giving them Saturday and Sunday off. Their next game wasn't until the following Saturday anyway, but they all figured there was another reason for the time off. Some suspected he was going out of town with his family for the weekend.

"Hey Riley?" Verchota asked as everyone was arriving at the bar Friday night. "Is Herb out of town this weekend?"

"Yeah, he is actually. He went camping with Patty and the kids."

OC overheard their conversation and cut in. "You're staying alone at their house?" he asked, as if it was a big deal.

"Yeah," Riley said nonchalantly. It wasn't really that big of a deal. It wasn't like she could have gone to her family's apartment even if she wanted to because there was no place for her to sleep. Since Riley was living at her aunt and uncle's, her mom put her bed in storage until they found a house. It saved room in the apartment.

"And your parents are okay with that?" OC asked. Riley didn't correct 'parents'. Not everyone knew her dad had died, because it just wasn't something she wanted to talk about, and if she told people, she knew she would have to explain.

"I've seventeen. I can take care of myself," she said. In reality, her mom wasn't thrilled that Riley was staying alone, but as far as Riley was concerned, Mary didn't have a choice but to deal with it. Of course, Riley was supposed to spend all of Saturday and Sunday with her mom and siblings, but she was still basically on her own for the weekend.

As the night went on, everyone kept drinking and took turns playing darts and pool.

"I'll play darts," OC said when Bah mentioned they needed another person.

"Okay, you're on Riley's team then."

"On second thought, maybe I don't want to play," OC said, half seriously, half in a joking tone.

"Shut up, OC," Riley said, shoving him. OC immediately knew Riley was drunk. She wasn't speaking completely clearly, she almost missed him when she shoved him, and if she wasn't drunk, Riley wouldn't even have come near him. "I hava pretty good shot, justo let you know." And she was having trouble speaking clearly. OC wasn't really sure how she got so drunk, because they hadn't bought that many rounds, but he wasn't about to ask.

"She does," Bah agreed. "She sucks at pool, but she got pretty lucky in darts earlier."

"It wasn't luck!" Riley argued, but the guys knew differently. The only way a drunk could have thrown well was pure luck.

"Fine, I'll play," OC said. "Whatever."

"Loser hasta buy the next round," Riley said, making a bet.

"Confident are we?" Silky asked.

"She better be," OC said.

"How about we make a drinking game out of it?" Silky said.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Rizzo said, who was watching them. He was worried about Riley. Rizzo had never seen her that drunk. It was almost like she drank on an empty stomach. Or started before she came. _Or maybe even both, _Rizzo thought.

"No one asked you," Silky commented to Rizzo.

"I thinka drinkin' game'sa good idea," Riley said her words slurring as if to prove her words wrong.

"You would," said OC, also sharing in Rizzo's thoughts that Riley was more drunk than he had ever seen her.

Silky went on to explain the drinking game rules, which no one except him understood, and they began to play. Riley and OC went onto win the game of darts by a narrow margin, which is when Silky handed Riley a half of beer.

"Drink up," Silky said.

"Why?"

"Because you had the winning throw. That was part of the drinking game rules."

Bah made the comment, "Silky's making up his own rules as he goes along."

"I could tell," Riley said with a giggle while half falling over.

"Want to go with me to buy the next round of drinks?" Silky asked Riley.

"Thasall on you. I'm not helpin' the losin' team with buyin' drinks."

"You don't need to pay. Just go with me to keep me company," Silky said, snaking an arm around the teenager's waist.

"Bring Bah. He needsta pay for hafanyway," Riley said.

"I want _you_ to go with me. I want to talk to you _alone_," he said, now pulling her toward him and wrapping his other arm around her too.

"Allright," Riley agreed, smiling as she let Silky lead her to the bar.

Silky put an order in for two more pitchers of beer. Then he turned to Riley. "What do you want?"

"You're buyin' me somethin?"

"Yeah, don't you want something other than beer?"

"I guess. I'm sorta sicka beer."

"How about a Long Island Iced Tea?"

"Sure," Riley said.

Silky turned to the bar tender, handed him a five dollar bill and asked for the drink. Then he said quietly so Riley couldn't hear him, "Make it extra strong, and keep the change."

The bar tender handed Silky the drink, who in turn, handed it to Riley. He watched her take a sip to gauge her reaction. He wanted it strong, but not so strong she wouldn't drink it.

"This isamazin!" Riley said. "Bessdrink I hadall night. Thanks you."

"My pleasure," Silky said. He grabbed the two pitchers of beer off of the counter and followed the stumbling Riley back to the table.

"You bought her another fucking drink!" Rizzo said when he saw Riley half walking and half stumbling, drink in hand.

"Yeah," Silky said. "What's it to you?"

"She's gonna get sick!" Rizzo said. "You can't keep giving her drinks like that."

"She'll be fine. I'm keeping an eye on her," Silky replied, with the trademark Silky wink.

"Yeah, hell of an eye," Rammer said, laughing, knowing Silky was watching her for more than the possible of getting sick. Earlier that night, Silky told Rammer and Mac, 'Tonight's the night.' Neither knew exactly what he meant, but he looked at Riley when he said it, so they could have made a logical guess.

When Silky noticed Riley had finished her drink, he asked if she wanted to go outside for some fresh air. She agreed and they left the bar. Silky told Bah to let Rizzo know he didn't need a ride back to the dorms. Silky wouldn't tell Rizzo himself because he didn't need mothering again. After sitting outside for about a half hour, Silky asked Riley if she wanted to take a walk, thinking that some of the effect of the multiple drinks she consumed must have worn off. Riley agreed to a walk so they left the bar.

"So, did you have fun tonight Riley?"

"Yeah, I had a lotta fun."

"Good. Me too. I was sort of hoping you would want to head back to the dorms with me. We could just relax and hang out for a bit without the big bar crowd."

"I like that idea," Riley said, now slightly more able to speak understandably.

Silky continued making small talk with Riley as they headed back to the dorms. He could tell the fresh air was helping even more, because although Riley was still very drunk, she was having a slightly easier time walking and speaking.

"What do you want to watch?" Silky asked once they got back to his room. Riley made herself comfortable on his bed, sitting with her back resting against the headboard and her legs stretched out straight.

"I dunno if I feel like watchin' anything," she said. "Do you?" she asked, and sort of flirtingly batted her eyes.

"Well, not if you don't," Silky said, sort of laughing at the drunk Riley, and he climbed onto his bed and crawled over to where the teenager was sitting. He straddled her shins, keeping his distance at first. "What would you like to do?" he asked, getting closer, now straddling her thighs.

Riley leaned her head toward him and said, "You. Tell. Me." Riley spoke slowly, with a suggestive smile, getting her words out without slurring anything this time.

"Well, I think you might know what _I_ want to do…"

Riley leaned forward closer, closing the gap between them and Riley and Silky began kissing. What first started out as kissing became more heated, with Riley and Silky wrapping their arms around each other. After a minute of making out, Silky made his move. His moved his hands to the front of her jeans and unbuttoned and unzipped them. Before sliding Riley's jeans off though, he pulled away.

"Riley," he began, his voice low and husky, "we don't have to do this."

"I want to," Riley said, her glazed over green eyes looking into his blue eyes.

"Are you sure? I don't want to pressure you," Silky said, not entirely meaning what he said. He knew Riley was drunk enough to agree to have sex with him, but he wanted to make sure she had an out if she needed it. He might have been a total womanizer, but he knew he wasn't a date raper.

"I. Want. You," Riley said slowly and deliberately while pulling on Silky's shirt.

Very quickly, things between Riley and Silky progressed, leaving Riley with little clue as to what exactly was going on. She knew they were about to have sex, but she had no idea what to do. She tried to go along with it what Silky was doing and move with him, but she felt really awkward. Riley just hoped Silky wouldn't be able to tell she was a virgin.

For the first time that night, Riley actually felt lucid enough to think. It was like the sex was sobering her up. Of course, she knew this wasn't likely, but she felt like it was.

Her thoughts then went back to Silky's question. Although she was feeling more conscious with each passing minute, Riley knew her mind wouldn't change. She wanted this. Riley wanted Silky more than she would even be able to explain. For the first time in months, Riley felt alive. Someone wanted her as much as she wanted him, and it felt good. She felt the emotional pain of the past months being taken away, but another pain was setting in.

Physical pain.

Riley closed her eyes and winced, wishing having sex didn't hurt. After a minute of Silky moving rhythmically over her, Riley began to feel it as a good pain. An exhilarating pain. Having sex hurt, but it felt good at the same time. Really good.

When Silky was done, which, if Riley had to guess, was less than five minutes after he started, he rolled off of her. Riley didn't move for a minute, because she didn't know what was supposed to happen next. _It can't be over with,_ Riley thought. She was just getting into it.

After minutes went by with total silence, Riley looked over at Silky. He was sound asleep! As Riley pondered what to do, she felt a queasiness rising in her stomach. Jumping off of the bed, she threw on Silky's shirt and ran to the bathroom, hoping she would make it in time. Just as the contents of her stomach rose into her mouth, Riley bent over the toilet. After vomiting what she thought was everything from that night, she realized her legs felt all wet. Looking down, she noticed blood trickling down her thighs.

_Fuck_, she thought. After cleaning herself up, Riley stood up straight and became very dizzy. _I guess that made my decision to stay the night_, she thought. Moments before, she debated making a quiet exit, but now she thought it was best to stay.

After she was pretty sure the bleeding stopped, Riley made her way back to Silky's room. She slipped her underwear back on and climbed back into bed, not bothering to change out of Silky's shirt.

A/N: Hope you liked it! I'd love to hear feedback on this one, good or bad. And just so that you're all aware, the morning after will NOT be the morning after that was in the beginning. That's still a few chapters away. Please review! If I'm motivated enough, I might be able to update this weekend before school is in full force. The next chapter is going to have the aftermath of Riley and Silky's night and OC's date. Possibly an Emma appearance.


	11. Chapter 10: Aftermath

NellieBly413672: Glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing. There will be more interesting things to come, I assure you of that.

LTJM: Thanks, for the review and the good luck in school. I'll need it, lol. And the answer to your question is of course - definitely yes. (You'll see more of that in the next chapter)

Septembrisms: lol, your comment really made me laugh. Thanks for the review, I'm glad you liked it.

Dogdaysareover: Yes, trouble is right. Thanks for the review and I hope you like this one too.

Birdcrap: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like the story so far.

A/N: Here it is. Hope you all enjoy it! Thanks again to all of my wonderful reviewers. Reviews make my day! This chapter is short, but it's almost like part 1 of 2. There's more fallout in the next chapter as far as Silky and Riley are concerned.

**Chapter 10: Aftermath**

When morning came, Silky woke up not expecting to find Riley sleeping in his bed. He remembered what happened the previous night, but Silky figured Riley would leave before morning like most one night stands. _They never stay until morning, _he thought. _Not when it's just sex. _Silky then noticed Riley was wearing his shirt and was even more surprised. _I sure hope she doesn't get the wrong idea from this, _he thought. _If I even thought I wanted to date her, I would have taken her on a date before the sex._ Silky didn't want Riley to be more than a one night stand. He didn't expect her to want anything more either. Sure she was young and naïve, but Silky didn't think she was stupid.

Riley began waking up moments later. Her first thought was that she must have split her head open on concrete. It was a killer headache. Then, Riley began remembering bits and pieces of the previous night.

_Drinking at the bar._

_Playing darts on OC's team._

_Taking a walk with Silky._

_Telling Silky she wanted him._

_Vomiting and bleeding – _and that's when it hit her. _I actually had sex with Dave Silk. And I'm still in his bed. _Riley then opened her eyes slowly to make sure it was real. _Yup, real, _she thought.

As Riley's eyes adjusted to the light, she noticed Silky walking around in his boxers. No shirt. _Oh yeah, I'm wearing his shirt_, she remembered._ That's okay though, what a nice sight!_

Silky looked over and noticed Riley was awake.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," Riley replied. An awkward silence followed. "What time is it?" Riley finally asked.

"Twenty after eleven."

"Shit," Riley said, not expecting to have slept that late. From consistently getting up early for practice, her body was used to the early time and even on weekends she had trouble forcing herself to sleep in.

"Umm, Riley, about last night…" Silky started. "I wasn't really planning on… this… turning into anything."

Riley figured the 'this' must have meant the two of them. "Oh yeah, neither was I," Riley said nonchalantly, though suddenly hoping he would say that last night changed his mind. Riley liked him from the first time he smiled at her, but at that point she didn't look ahead at all. After all, she liked all the guys that gave her attention. It just so happened that she slept with Silky, and now a part of her wished they could be more.

"Oh good," Silky said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I didn't know what you thought, and I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page."

Riley hesitated before responding. _I mean nothing to him,_ Riley thought. _He just wanted to sleep with me. _Then, Riley replied, "Definitely on the same page. I don't want anything either."

"Good," Silky said, then, "Friends?" Silky didn't actually want to be friends in the literal sense, but he just wanted to make sure she was okay with everything. _Not that there would be much she could do anyway if she wasn't okay with everything, _he thought.

"Yeah, friends," Riley replied, suddenly needing to hold back tears. "I better get changed and get home." Riley grabbed her clothes and went to the bathroom. Once she was alone, Riley sat on the dirty bathroom floor and burst into tears.

"I'm so fucking stupid," she said to herself. Then she thought about everything that happened leading up to last night. Riley really thought Silky liked her. He was always flirting and telling her she was pretty, and now everything was a mess. She had no idea what he was thinking.

Riley pulled out the folded paper from her jean pocket and opened it up. The words _'Never live with regrets'_ burned in her mind and made her cry more. _'I'll always be watching…you better make me proud'. _"Oh Daddy," Riley sobbed. Riley started wondering why she did it. Feelings of regret seeped in. _It wasn't special, it wasn't fun, and it hurt,"_ Riley thought. Having sex wasn't at all what she thought it would be. Not only that, but she felt completely awkward doing it. Trying to compose herself, Riley quickly got dressed and went back to Silky's room to give him his shirt. _Stop this nonsense crying Riley_, she told herself, realizing that being hung over made her really moody and emotional. Before walking into Silky's room, she heard two voices.

"She was a fucking virgin!" Riley heard Silky say.

"I knew it!" Riley heard next, immediately recognizing the voice belonging to OC.

"Jesus, if I would have known…"

"How'd you know?" Riley could almost see a smug grin on OC's face.

"How did I _know_?" Silky asked, and with the tone, Riley could tell he was giving OC a look. "She's like, as virgin as they come. She had no fucking clue what she doing. I don't even think she's done _anything_ besides kiss a guy before."

"She was really that bad?" OC asked.

"It was terrible," Silky said. "Worst sex of my life, and get this – when I woke up this morning, she was still _here_. And she was wearing my shirt!" Riley couldn't make out what OC's response was, but then she heard Silky continue. "Girls always know better. Every girl I've been with has known better than to stay the night. If I wanted her to stay, we would have finished _a date_ with sex."

"And every girl you've been with so far has been in college," OC said, followed by something else Riley couldn't make out.

_Dammit, _Riley thought. _I'm so stupid. College girls sleep around. I'm supposed to act like I'm in college, not high school. He doesn't want some crazy relationship obsessed girl. He wants someone with no strings attached. But it still doesn't explain why he flirted so much. Usually, you flirt with people you like. If he just wanted to sleep me with, why not just ask? _Riley was really confused.

"Well, if I actually _liked_ her, staying the night wouldn't have been a problem. But I don't. I legitimately just wanted her for the sex," Riley heard Silky admit.

His words hit her like a brick. _Was everything he told me a lie? _Tears began welling in her eyes again. The truth was, Riley didn't care whether Silky wanted a relationship or not, because she wanted something different than a relationship anyway.

Riley just wanted to be wanted herself. Wanted and liked. More than anything, Riley wanted the pain of the last several months to go away. If she had someone, anyone, to make her really happy again, she knew it would ease the pain. She thought being with Silky would make her happy. She thought the beginning of getting over the past was last night, but now she knew she was wrong. Wrong because clearly, Silky never liked her at all.

When Riley didn't hear any more talking, she knocked on the door. Silky opened it and stood there expectantly.

"Here's your shirt," Riley said without further explanation. "See ya." She turned around to leave, not wanting to look at him anymore.

"Do you need a ride?" Silky asked.

"No, I'll be fine walking," she replied without turning around. She heard the door close behind her.

When Riley walked in the door of her uncle's empty house, the phone began ringing. She picked up but barely got "Hello?" out of her mouth.

"Riley! Where have you been?" her mother asked, yelling into the phone.

"Out," Riley said and sighed. She didn't need this right now.

"I've been calling all morning. You didn't answer last night either."

"I went out with the guys last night."

"Where were you this morning?"

"I needed to pick something up, okay. Is it any of your business?"

"Riley, don't start this. I was worried."

"Well, don't be. I'm fine."

Her Mom dropped it because she didn't know what else to say, and after a break in the conversation, she asked, "When did you want to go out today?"

"I can't Mom. I'm not feeling too good." That was the truth. Riley felt sick. It wasn't just the hangover either. She felt sick that she fell for Silky's charm. All the compliments – lies. She wanted to throw up. What she did last night… she wished she didn't. All Riley wanted to do was take a shower. Wash everything away. The more she thought about it, the more she felt the nausea rising. She was so confused!

"Were you drinking?" her mom asked, accusingly.

"Yeah, Mom, I was. I drank with the guys. I got totally drunk. I was so wasted I couldn't stand up. Are you happy?" Riley asked. She then continued with, "But I'm legitimately sick, okay. I just want to sleep."

"Okay, I'm stopping by later though. We need to talk."

"Fine. Whatever." Riley hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

Hours later, when Riley woke up, she decided she was done crying over Silky. It was probably because she had no more tears left. Now Riley only wondered what she could have done to make him like her more. Like her for real.

Minutes later, she came up with an answer. Silky saw her as a child. _Hell, most of the guys probably see me like that,_ she thought. Riley now knew she needed to be more outgoing, more social, flirtier, and most of all, act more experienced. If the guys wanted sex, she'd deal with it, but she wanted them to at least _like_ her. She wouldn't let them pretend to want her. Riley wanted them to like her, even if they didn't like her enough for a relationship.

Riley got it. She understood. College guys don't want more than sex. _I'm the one that's messed up_, thought Riley. _Not them. _

The teenager was now under the very wrong, and possibly dangerous, notion that casual sex was the norm for all college students and that it was required to be 'normal'. She now thought that one night stands were supposed to happen, and that it was all part of living.

_All I want to do is feel alive,_ Riley thought. She didn't care anymore that she slept with Silky, but next time, she would only let it happen with someone who actually liked her.

* * *

Later Saturday evening, OC was getting ready for his date with Lisa. On his way out he ran into Emma who happened to be walking in to meet up with Bah, Pav, and Verchota.

"Well, don't you look all spiffy?" Emma commented, wondering where he was going. He had on a nice polo shirt and kakis pants, not his usual attire.

"Yeah," OC said, not offering much in the way of information.

"Where are you off to?"

OC stopped for a second. "Actually, I could use your advice. I'm going out for dinner with a girl I met the other night, and I don't know whether to get flowers or not."

Emma stopped listening at "a girl I met the other night" and said, "You met a girl the other night?"

"Yeah, the day after we got back from Europe. The night you were at the bar with us."

"But I was with you almost the whole time. I didn't see you meet anyone."

"After you left this girl came up and told me flat out that she thought I was really hot."

"Oh," Emma said, incorrectly assuming the girl asked OC out. _At least she asked him out,_ Emma thought.

"Anyway, what do you think?" OC asked, reverting Emma back to his question.

"Think about what?" she asked.

"Flowers?" OC said, expectantly awaiting an answer.

"No flowers," Emma said.

"You're sure?" OC asked.

"Well," Emma said. "I've only gotten flowers on first dates from guys that really, really wanted to impress me. If you're just doing to be nice, I wouldn't bother."

"Okay, thanks," OC said. He wasn't going to get flowers then. He didn't even know much about Lisa or if he liked her enough to date her. She intrigued him, which is the only reason he asked her out in the first place.

OC picked Lisa up right on time, and they headed off to a restaurant of her choice. She picked a little café type restaurant in the city. It was a nice restaurant where they could talk and get to know each other easily.

Throughout dinner, they talked about everything from their hometowns to their first crushes, to post college life. OC was having a good time, but he wasn't sure if he was actually attracted to her in the relationship sense. He didn't think he'd be able to put up with her personality for that long.

"So, why Women Studies?" OC asked, wondering why Lisa chose that as her college major.

"Let me ask you a question – are men and women equal?" Lisa asked and raised her eyebrows in a way that made her look very serious. She also made it look like there was only one answer.

Normally, OC would have resounded 'NO' to this question, but instead he found himself saying, "Yeah, they're equal."

"So you're saying women can do anything that men can do?" Lisa asked. OC picked up on her testing him.

"Yeah."

"Even play hockey?" Lisa asked, her eyebrows raised.

This was tough for OC. "Uhh, yeah," he admitted, though lying. OC loved speaking his mind and didn't usually care what other people thought of what he had to say, but he found himself almost scared of this girl for some reason. He could just tell that Lisa was the type to have an extreme temper, and the last thing OC wanted to do was piss her off.

"Good answer," Lisa said. "I went into women studies because of women's rights. I was the president of ERA on campus for three years, and I've always been really interested in women's rights and advocating for them."

"What's ERA?"

"Equal Rights for All," Lisa said, and continued without missing a beat, "Did you know that companies still hire men over women nine times out of ten, even if the women had better qualifications. And women only make 70% of a man's salary in comparable fields."

As Lisa went on and on about advocating women's rights, OC began getting bored. He didn't care about anything she was saying. Finally, their conversation topic changed when the bill came.

"How much do I owe?" asked Lisa.

"I got it," OC said.

"Did you listen to anything I just said?" she asked, sounding a little perturbed.

"I just thought I'd be nice and pay. I asked you out, so I should pay. If you asked me out, you would pay," OC said.

"Point taken," Lisa said.

_Note to self, _OC thought. _Never open this girl's car door. She'd probably throw a fit._

Next, OC and Lisa went to a movie. They saw 'City on Fire' which Lisa surprisingly picked. OC was only surprised because it was an action movie. Then again, with this girl, nothing should surprise him. OC found Lisa to be very enjoyable to be around when she wasn't talking about women's rights. She was funny and very easy to joke with, and she was really pretty. Lisa was also confident. Half of the time when OC went on an actual date, his reputation preceded him and girls were so nervous they would barely talk. It wasn't like that with Lisa though. She clearly could care less that OC was a hockey player, and the first date jitters most people get didn't seem to have an effect on her at all. OC just wished she wasn't so controlling. He could definitely see Lisa as the type to call all of the shots.

When the movie was over, Lisa and OC walked and talked for a while before OC brought Lisa home. OC then went back to the dorms himself. It was still early when he walked in his dorm room. His roommate, Rizzo, was surprised to see him home that early. In college the two guys roomed together, and OC never came home before eleven from dates, if he came home at all. It was ten thirty.

"What brings you home so early?" Rizzo wondered.

"The movie ended about an hour ago. We walked and talked a while, and then I dropped her off at her room. She didn't invite me in. Her exact words were, 'I don't sleep with someone after the first date.' So, here I am."

"Sorry to hear that man," Rizzo said, knowing OC was disappointed.

"I don't think this will amount to anything anyway. I thought I liked the in control personality, but it's a little much for me."

"So what?" Rizzo wondered, "Are you saying you like the submissive type?" He then laughed at his joke.

"No. But I want to wear the pants in the relationship. Besides, I can't start anything here when I'll be gone in a few months. It's not happening. Nothing exclusive at least."

"Is she into casual, open relationships?"

"Don't know. I'm going out next weekend with her though. I'll see then. I have a feeling one of two things will happen though. Lisa will either be so into the idea that she suggests an orgy, or she'll be so outraged, she'll shoot me with a gun she probably owns."

Rizzo didn't comment, but gave OC a very funny look.

"She thinks men and women are completely equal," OC said, as if explaining everything.

"They are."

"If a girl was on our hockey team, what would you say?"

"That's it's called a _Men's_ Olympic Hockey team for a reason," Rizzo said easily without much thought. "Point taken," Rizzo said, understanding where OC was coming from.


	12. Chapter 11: May the Force Be With You

NellieBly413672: lol, Yeah Silky was a dick. It seems like everyone feels the same as you do toward Riley at this point… thanks for the review!

LTJM: Glad you liked it, thanks for the review! Hope you like this update too.

Septembrisms: Lol, yeah, guys… ugh. Anyway, eventually you just might see that 360 (it might take him a while to go all the way to 360 though, it'll be more like 45 degree increments, lol). Thanks for the review!

Dogdaysareover: Haha, yeah, he is. Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked it.

Birdcrap: Yeah, you'll see more what she thinks about that in this chapter too. Thanks for the review!

A/N: Okay, I wanted to update sooner than this, but unfortunately, that's the way things go. I hope you all like this chapter. There's more of the aftermath for Silky and Riley's night together – this chapter picks up the Monday after everything went down. Also, there were comments about liking OC's date. I promise you'll see what happens with that, but it won't be in this chapter. Buzz and Gayle will have to hold you over until next time! Enjoy! Please review! PS – some of my favorite chapters are coming up. I cannot wait to actually write them! Just thought I'd share…

**Chapter 11: May the Force Be With You**

Monday morning, the guys were all filing in the locker room before practice. They were talking and joking like usual, trying to get in the mindset for another week of rough practices.

"Hey Mac," Silky said, walking over to his friend's locker. "She's all yours," Silky said with a smirk and hit Mac on the back.

"She slept with you?" Mac asked, loudly, which made everyone turn their heads towards the two guys.

"Uh, yeah," Silky said. "Did you think she'd turn me down?"

"Honestly?" Mac asked. He thought about it. "No, probably not." Mac wasn't surprised because Riley did beg him to sleep with her a month back.

"You still want it?" Silky asked, thinking that now Mac probably changed his mind.

"Nope," he answered quickly.

"You sure you don't want to tap that?" Silky asked, making Mac think there was something Silky wasn't telling him. Mac looked at him expectantly. Silky continued. "She's a virgin. Well, _was_ a virgin."

"You _deflowered_ her?" Verchota asked, having been listening to the conversation. He was half smiling, half shocked.

"Yeah. Let's just say I don't want to have to do _that_ favor for someone again."

"Was it messy?" Rammer asked. Everyone looked at him, wondering why he would say that. "Well, if she bled…"

"Oh God Rammer, eww… oh my God – don't say things like that! Ever!" Buzz said.

"That's gross!" Pav said. Most of the other guys were making faces too, as if they didn't know it could happen.

"It's true," Rammer said and shrugged. "When my first girlfriend and I did it, she bled everywhere. Like really, all over the place. I was afraid I'd have to take her to the hospital."

"Rammer, shut the fuck up!" Christain yelled. "That's so disgusting!"

"Way, way, way, too much information, man," Mac told him, shaking his head.

"You guys don't even know her," he said, as if that made it any better.

As most of the guys were still getting over Rammer's story, Mac asked Silky how he knew Riley was a virgin.

The guys standing nearby turned their attention to Silky. They wanted to know too. Silky explained that Riley didn't know what she was doing, which gave the guys a few laughs. Rizzo and Jimmy then walked in the locker room when Silky had everyone's attention again. When they walked in and everyone was laughing, Rizzo asked what they missed that was so funny.

"Silky's telling us all about his little experience with the inexperienced and clueless Riley," Bah said, still laughing a little. Bah thought Silky was being a little crude, but it was still hilarious.

"What 'little experience'?" Rizzo asked.

"He banged her," Verchota said, nonchalantly.

"You what!" Rizzo said, completely shocked. "Are you OUT of your MIND? What the fuck are you gonna do when Herb finds out?"

"He's not gonna find out. Unless someone tells him," Silky said, glaring at Rizzo.

"Did you ever think that Riley might tell?" Rizzo asked, thinking he couldn't have been the only one to think of the consequences, because this didn't even directly involve him.

"She won't."

"And you know this how? I mean, I don't think you plan on dating her. If she gets the wrong idea at all, she can blackmail you with this."

"Or she could not waste her time with blackmail and get you thrown in jail," Mark added, who had previously been quiet through the whole conversation.

"She won't. She's not going to tell. Because if she tells, she won't be able to come back to help with the team, and we're the only 'friends' she has," Silky said, making air quotes around friends.

"Your ass, man," Rizzo said, shrugging, like he didn't care anymore. If Silky wanted to risk everything for a night of fun, Rizzo wasn't going to try to stop him anymore. "Your ass," he added again for effect.

* * *

After the guys were done with their daily Monday routine, the guys were all leaving the rink to head back to the dorms. On OC's way out, he happened to run into Riley. _My lucky day,_ he thought sarcastically. He decided to be an ass and ask her about the other night with Silky.

"So, Riley… I hear you lost your virginity the other night."

"Shut up asshole. I know you already know. Silky told you, I'm not stupid. I heard the whole fucking conversation." Riley's voice was bitter as she said this.

_She heard all of that?_ OC wondered, remembering the conversation with Silky the other day, and for a split second, he felt bad. Then OC remembered he was talking to Riley, and he didn't feel bad anymore. Her attitude, as usual, was pissing him off.

"I thought you said you already had sex," OC said, smiling at the thought of catching Riley in a lie, remembering that in a conversation when they first met, Riley said that she had sex already. "So my guess is that the other things you told me were lies too," OC added.

"I'm not fucking talking to you about this," Riley said.

"Are you pissed at Silky?" OC asked, knowing he was really pushing her buttons now. "I mean, you were really drunk. I bet you didn't know what was going on." For as much as OC loved pissing Riley off, he was also trying to get her side of the story, which was the main reason he was asking.

"I wanted it OC," she said, speaking truthfully. "He asked. I said yes. I don't regret it. End of story." Then, as she turned around to walk away she added, "And get that fucking smile off your face."

"Whatever Strawberry Shortcake," OC told her. With this, Riley sped up her pace so as to lose OC. OC didn't see the point in continuing so he didn't follow her.

Riley was ready to cry. _Did anyone on the team like me?_ she wondered. _Silky doesn't, OC doesn't. Who else doesn't?_ Riley hated how mean OC could be. It always bothered her, but now that she knew Silky never liked her either, it was ten times worse.

* * *

No one invited Riley out that night. Or any other night that week. For the most part, the guys relaxed in the dorms most nights anyway, because they were beat from their tough practices. Riley knew the practices that week were tough, so she didn't take it personally that they didn't invite her out. They still acted pretty normal around her at practice. Besides, she wanted to figure everything that was going on for herself first, before being around Silky and everyone else again.

Most of the guys were nice to her, so she came to the conclusion that they must like her. Then again, Silky was very nice and it turned out he didn't like her at all. OC was the only guy that was outwardly mean though. She came to the conclusion that Silky faked being nice because he wanted to sleep with her. The other guys showed no interest in sleeping with her that she knew of, so she assumed they must actually like her. _Why would they fake it if they have nothing to gain?_ Riley wondered.

Riley thought a lot about Silky too. With each passing day, she was bothered less and less by the fact that he used her for sex. Sure, every word that came out of his mouth was probably a lie, but he wanted_ her _and he could have had _anyone,_ so she must have meant something to him. _I bet we'd be friends if OC weren't around_, Riley thought. She knew OC probably complained about her and talked about her all the time when she wasn't around, and Silky probably got bad vibes from that.

Then there was another issue – the sex. Being a few days removed from the situation, it was easier to think clearly about that too. _At least I know that casual sex is just that – casual,_ Riley thought. It still wasn't the best experience, but Riley blamed that on herself. _It's not like I told Silky that I was a virgin and didn't know what to do._ _Maybe if I told him ahead, he would have been more okay with it._ Riley was also glad that next time, whenever that would be, she would have a better idea of what was going on. And even though it wasn't the best experience, Silky still made her feel good. _Whether the compliments were lies or not, whether I felt a little pain or not, and whether he considers me his friend or not, he made me feel better than I've felt in a long time, I consider him a friends, and I trust him, so I guess that's all that matters._

Wednesday night, the guys decided to round up a group to go to a baseball game. The Twins were playing the Cubs at home, and the guys had nothing better to do. Among the guys that went were Jimmy, OC, Silky, Rizzo, Bah, Mac, Pav, Verchota, and Buzz. Buzz also brought along Gayle, and was sitting in the row behind the guys. It was supposed to be a guy's night out, but since almost every night was a guy's night, Buzz decided to bring his wife. The only condition was that he sat in the row behind everyone else. To Buzz and Gayle it didn't matter, because they, as Verchota put it, "Acted like a typical married couple the whole time anyway."

Silky was sitting next to Verchota until he decided that he needed to get nachos and dragged Jimmy with him.

"I need your advice," Silky began. Jimmy knew he must have wanted to talk about something, because he would have brought OC or Verchota along for the nachos otherwise.

Jimmy just looked at him expectantly. He could have guessed what this was about, but didn't. He wanted Silky to come out and say it.

"I feel really bad about what happened with Riley."

Jimmy noticed that for once in Silky's life, well, that is for as long as Jimmy knew him, he had a look of sincere regret.

"What do you need my advice about?" Jimmy wondered.

Silky sighed. "I've been avoiding her all week. I can't tell if she's avoiding me, because I've been avoiding her that well."

"Are you saying you think what you did was wrong?" Jimmy asked, trying to keep a serious expression on his face, but having trouble. Silky never, ever admitted to being wrong. Ever. And right now, he looked genuinely remorseful.

"Look Jim. I wanted to talk to you because I knew you would give me honest advice. Rizzo won't. He'll say, 'I told you so.' OC won't. He'll make jokes and laugh it off. The point is, I feel bad, and I don't know what to do."

"Talk to her."

"Talk to Riley?"

"Who else do you think you should talk to?" Jimmy said sarcastically. "If you want to fix things, tell her you're sorry."

"But sorry about what? For being a dick and getting her drunk? For having sex with her? It's not like I pressured her," Silky said, trying to tell himself that he didn't do anything wrong.

"But you took advantage."

"I'm not sorry about that. I don't think I did anything wrong there. She agreed." Silky paused and then continued. "I took away something she can never get back."

"So you're saying if you knew she was a virgin, you wouldn't have done it," Jimmy stated.

"No way," Silky said. It wasn't about her lack of experience or her age, but Silky knew he would have shown some respect and not done anything with her when she was drunk unless she had already been with someone.

"Just be honest with her," Jimmy told him, hoping to end the conversation. They were next in line to buy their nachos.

"I can't be too honest. I still don't like the kid. I just wanted her because I thought she'd be an easy lay."

"Don't tell her that," Jimmy said in a warning tone, and then proceeded to order nachos and a beer.

When they got back to their seats, everyone in their group was gone, presumably getting food or beer, except Buzz and Gayle.

"Aw, aren't you two cute?" Silky said in a sing song voice. Buzz and Gayle were sort of huddled against each other. It wasn't that cold, just a little chilly.

"Gayle wants to get on the kiss cam," Buzz responded in a tone that Silky and Jimmy couldn't tell whether he was joking or serious.

OC and the rest of the guys came back minutes later. "Aw, aren't you two cute?" OC said, unknowingly repeating Silky's comment from a moment before.

"They're trying to get on the kiss cam," Silky joked.

"Girls always want to get on the kiss cam," Pav commented. "I don't get what the big deal is."

"Who said I wanted to get on it?" Gayle joked. "Buzz here is the one that really wants to."

Since Gayle sounded so serious, the guys actually thought she was being serious, and they all gave Buzz funny looks.

A while later, Mac happened to turn around and he caught Buzz and Gayle sharing a little kiss.

"God, get a room!" he said, teasing them.

"Are they back there necking again?" OC asked, without turning around to see for himself. Buzz was sitting directly in front of OC so he kicked him in the shoulder. Gayle laughed.

"You're just jealous because you want what we have," Gayle said, mainly speaking to OC and Mac because they had been giving Gayle and Buzz more crap than anyone else the entire night.

OC turned around. "Commitment?" he asked. "Being on constant strings? Being like, Jedi mind controlled by a girl? Um, I think I'll pass," OC added, laughing.

"Jedi mind tricks?" Gayle asked OC, and then elbowed Buzz. "I think you've been hanging out with them too much," she told her husband. "People think girls are bad when it comes to gossiping, but you boys… I bet ten percent of your locker room talk is about hockey, and the other ninety is your girl problems."

Everyone laughed at that. Rammer commented, "I think that's about right." There was more laughter among the guys and Gayle now.

"But seriously, does Buzz talk to you about my Jedi Mind Tricks all the time? Because he constantly tells me that I use Jedi powers to control him."

"Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him," OC said, quoting Ben from A New Hope.

Gayle followed, quoting Luke "You mean it controls your actions?"

Now OC, Buzz, and Mac, chimed in, all quoting Ben, "Partially, but it also obeys your commands."

The four all laughed. OC then told Buzz, "I love your wife."

"You better not try anything," Buzz warned, jokingly.

"It's too bad you're already taken," OC told Gayle, and then added in a lower voice, "But if you ever get tired of him, you know where to find me." He purposely spoke in a level just above a whisper, but he also purposely let Buzz hear him. Gayle laughed.

"If he keeps telling you guys about all of my Jedi Mind Tricks, I might get tired of him sooner rather than later."

Now Mac jumped in. "I'm really impressed, Gayle. Not many girls know Stars Wars."

"Believe me, I know more quotes than I care to," she said in a voice that said it was mainly Buzz's choice when they watched it.

"You don't mind that much," Buzz said. "You have the most pathetic crush on Luke ever!"

"You think Mark Hamill's cute?" Rammer asked. "Looking at Buzz here, Hamill doesn't seem like your type."

She's not in love with Hamill, she's legitimately in love with the character of Luke," Buzz said.

"I am not!" Gayle said.

"They why did you want to go as Luke and Princess Leia last year for Halloween?"

"Because it was a creative idea."

"No, it's because if I went as Luke, you would get to live out your little fantasy," Buzz said, and before having a chance to continue, the guys that had been listening in on the conversation all stopped him from going further.

After the game ended, everyone headed back to the dorms to rest up for the next day. They knew another long day of practice was ahead of them.

* * *

Since Riley wasn't with the team outside of practices that week, and was mostly sitting at Herb's bored, she went out with her Mom and siblings for dinner one night. After the fact, Riley realized it was a big mistake.

The whole night was terrible. First, her mother was trying to engage Riley in conversation about the team and how she liked working with Herb. Riley didn't feel like talking about the team though. She did enough thinking about them the past few days to last her a long time. Besides that, Riley didn't feel like talking to her mom about anything. Then, because Riley didn't want to talk, her mom accused her of being immature. Riley had no idea why though. She knew she wasn't immature like her mom said. Her mom just didn't get it.

"You need to stop acting like you have other places you'd rather be then here with your family," Mary commented after Riley refused to talk about the team.

"Maybe I do have better places to be," Riley said without much emotion in her voice. She began pushing food around on her plate with her fork.

"Riley, you need to grow up!" Mary said, sounding angry. "Not everything is about you and what you want to be doing."

"I am grown up and that's precisely why I can do what I _want_!" Riley shot back.

"If you're referring to the drinking, drugs, and God knows what else you do when you're with those boys, that's not acting mature at all."

"You think just because I drank with them once, that I've turned into some druggie and slut!" Riley asked. Riley wasn't about to tell her mother she drank with them on multiple occasions and she slept with one of them, because as far as she was concerned, her mother didn't need to know. If her mother found out, Herb would find out.

"I'm not sure what to think anymore Riley. Over the past year, you've changed a lot. I used to be able to count on you; you were always the mature one. Now, I don't know what to think," she reiterated.

"I'm done," Riley said, moving her plate back. She had more than half sitting in front of her. Riley just didn't want to deal with her mother anymore right now. She could say a lot of things in response to her mother's last comment, but none of them would go over well at all. Riley didn't particularly want the restaurant to turn into a screaming match.

For once, Riley couldn't wait to get back to Herb's boring house.


	13. Chapter 12: One Night Stand

NellieBly413672: Glad you liked the baseball part. It was sort of filler for the most part, but sometimes those are the best because it's light and fun!

LTJM: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the baseball part, because most was just filler. And you'll see about Silky and Riley's conversation soon!

Septembrisms: Glad you liked it, thanks for the review! I can totally picture everything happening in the dressing room that I write about. I've heard guy's conversations before when there really aren't many girls around, and there is a lot of gossip, lol. And Riley and her mom do have a lot that they need to work on. You'll see where everything goes eventually – it'll just take a while to get there.

Peachy65: Thanks! Silky's not a complete jerk. He might have an ounce of decency, lol. You'll see what happens with their conversation soon.

Birdcrap: Thanks, you'll see what happens with that in an upcoming chapter!

A/N: Thanks again to everyone for reviewing! It feels so good to know I have people reading that story, and I can't even begin to say how much I enjoy reading what you think! This chapter is going to tie up some things, but introduce others… I hope you enjoy it! Side note: I have my first exam of the year on Monday, so you can expect another update Monday afternoon sometime! Writing's a great post exam de-stressor! Lol

**Chapter 11: One Night Stand**

Friday night, OC had a second date with Lisa. It was fun, like the first, but OC didn't want to start a serious relationship with her. For as much fun as they had together, she just wasn't quite his type. This time they went bowling first and then out for drinks. At one point nearing the end of the night, OC decided to see her thoughts on open relationships. By this point, they were both slightly tipsy, and OC figured that she would be less likely to get upset even if she was strongly opposed to the idea.

So, Lisa, what do you think about open relationships?" OC asked, trying to sound really casual and not like he was asking for a specific reason.

"Pointless," she responded. "I mean, if the relationship is open, why bother calling it a relationship at all?"

"Then you're into the idea of fuck buddies?" he asked.

"Not really. I'm not the type."

"Right, you don't sleep with a guy after the first date."

"I do after the second though," she said, her eyes letting OC know how she wanted the night to end. Then she added, "As long as they're the type that's into a relationship."

"Look, I'm going to be honest with you. I like you, but I'm not looking for anything serious right now. Between practices and games, I already have a lot on my plate, and besides that, I'll only be here through January. In February we leave, and I don't like Minnesota enough to come back."

"Then I guess this ends tonight," Lisa said, sounding understanding. "Thanks for being upfront about it. Most guys would wait until morning to decide it's not going any further. I respect you for telling me."

"If you ever want to just hang out though, give me a call."

"I will, definitely. You're a nice guy OC, and really fun to be around." Lisa paused for a minute and then said, "You've also exactly proven a point of mine. People usually say that girls are the sensitive and caring ones, and that guys are careless pigs, but I now know for a fact that it's not true. You're a perfect example of a caring and sensitive guy."

OC didn't know how to respond to Lisa's comment he was so surprised. _Did she just insinuate that I'm girlish? Because I didn't wait until we had sex to tell her I didn't want anything? She _did_ imply I'm a girl! Oh my God. I cannot believe her!_

For the remainder for the night, which was only one more drink because OC didn't want to be there anymore, talking to a girl that implied he acted like a girl, OC didn't have much to say to Lisa. They left the bar and OC dropped Lisa off at her apartment. He thanked her for a fun evening, but besides that, was still dumbfounded and had no other words for her.

* * *

Saturday evening, the team had a home game against the Minnesota North Stars. It was pretty interesting, because many of the guys grew up rooting for the North Stars, and many were still big fans now. It was also weird because even those from Boston who didn't like the North Stars were impressed they were playing a real NHL team.

"This is like the big leagues now," Verchota commented at one point before the game in the locker room.

"Yeah, but they'll probably play the rookies on the team this year. It's still preseason for them. Besides that, Sonmor's not stupid. He's not going to put his best players in for a preseason game against a bunch of college kids," OC pointed out about the coach.

"You just had to go and burst my bubble OC, didn't you," Verchtoa said, but he was only kidding. He knew this as well as everyone else. It would still be good practice for them to play an NHL team though.

They ended up losing the game 4-2, so no one was really happy after the game, but they were all ready to go out and forget the game and their performance.

That night, they decided to go to a dance club, because Verchota said it was easier to pick up chicks at this one club that he knew of than at any bar. Some of the guys were a little hesitant though.

"I don't want to go out dancing," Mark complained, being the shy guy that he was. "And I don't care about picking up girls necessarily either." Mark was one that held up his reputation of being the 'good guy' well.

"Don't tell me you want to pick up guys, Johnson," Silky teased. "I'll have to kick your ass right here and now."

Mark rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant dip shit. I'm not going to find my type of girl in a club like that."

"Club like that?" OC wondered, amused. "What kind of club is this?"

"I'm beginning to think it's exactly my kind of club," Silky joked.

Mark rolled his eyes again, and this time, Rizzo spoke for him.

"I think Mark means that unless he finds a girl that was dragged there by her friends like he was, he won't find anyone."

* * *

A few hours later, most of the team arrived at the dance club. Rizzo, Mark, Morrow, Jimmy, and Buzz were the only guys not there. The rest of the team split up for the most part once inside. There was a lounge in the back where a small group headed, because they wanted to stake out a prime position for getting girls to come to them. Silky, OC, Mac, and Verchota were immediately seen tearing up the dance floor. Within ten minutes, all four guys had bought a girl a drink. Rammer and Pav saw this success and decided to try it for themselves.

Not everyone there wanted to bring a girl home that night. Some of the guys just went because they knew they would have a good time, and others only went because they thought it would be fun seeing their friend's tactics.

The club was big, so within an hour, the guys were spread out all over. As some guys got ready to leave, they just took whatever car was available at the time. They decided before going that everyone would sort of be on their own as far as getting back to the dorms was concerned. It was easier than trying to regroup that many guys in a crowded club. Besides that, not everyone wanted to go back to the dorms that night. Silky and OC were the last ones from the team at the club. They were both hoping to take a girl home.

"So…" Silky said loudly over the music to the blonde he was dancing with. "Whose room is closer to the club? Mine or yours?"

The girl stopped dancing with Silky and pulled away from him. Then she shoved him when she realized he was serious.

"I'm not leaving with you," she said, sternly.

"Why not, baby?" Silky said, trying again.

"I'm not your _baby_. And I think my husband would be upset if he knew you asked me to sleep with you. I'm some slut you can dish about to your friends tomorrow."

"You're married?" Silky wondered, shocked. "Why the fuck are you dancing with me if you're married?"

"Because you asked. And anyway, I wasn't about to sit by myself all night because I'm the only one of my friends that's attached."

"I don't believe this!" Silky was mainly upset because he wasted his whole night on someone that was married. "You're not wearing a ring," Silky then noticed, now thinking she was using 'being married' as a lame excuse.

"I'm not stupid," she said. "Guys would steer clear if they saw a ring. It was nice dancing with you, but I have to go."

The girl slipped away, leaving Silky not knowing whether to believe her or not.

Meanwhile, OC was having a little more luck. He had been dancing with the same girl for at least an hour. She was almost his height and had long bleach blonde hair. She was wearing a very short skirt and very low cut top, along with tall leather boots. It was easy to compare her looks to that of a stripper's, but that wasn't at all why OC asked her to dance. He asked her because she was gorgeous – tall, thin, and blonde. Besides, her flexibility was amazing - OC noticed what a good job she was doing on the poles earlier.

Also, the girl seemed fun enough to OC. When he first approached her, he tried a really lame pickup line, hoping she would be able to laugh it off and not take it seriously.

"Hey hottie," OC said, with a big, cheesy smile. He needed that to add the joking effect.

"Hey yourself."

"I saw you dancing on that pole before," OC said.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, and you were so good, I was wondering if you'd want to slide down another back at my place?"

The girl laughed it off and OC laughed with her. "Hold on there, tiger. Maybe we could try a dance or two first?"

"Sure thing," OC said, and led her to the dance floor.

And hour later, OC wanted to speed things up a bit.

"I thought you said a dance or two?" The blonde didn't respond. "If we wait much longer, I may have a problem moving from the dance floor."

"What are we waiting for then?" she asked. "We wouldn't want that. Besides, you need to have something left in you for later," she added with a wink.

"Oh trust me, having more for later is not something I'll have a problem with," OC responded.

The couple left the club together, attached at the hip and ready to spend the night together.

* * *

"I had a good night last night," OC told Silky the next morning while they were getting dressed for practice.

"Who'd you meet?" Silky asked, knowing there was a girl involved.

"Her name was Ashley. I met her at the club."

"I noticed you getting pretty close with a hottie. That her?"

"He got close with a few hotties," Rammer commented.

"The stripper chick?" Silky asked, thinking the one girl looked like a stripper.

"Oh yeah, that's the one," OC said. "I don't know if it'll be a good practice for me today."

"That good, huh?" asked Silky.

"You have no idea," OC said with a mischievous grin.

"Damn, I'm jealous."

"What's this about OC getting some ass?" Verchota asked, Bah standing close by.

"That girl he was with at the club," Silky started. "He showed her a thing or two later on." Then he turned to OC. "Her place?"

"Yeah. And it was more like she showed me a thing or two."

"Damn," Verchtoa said.

"I thought you started seeing that girl?" Bah asked, remembering that OC went on a couple dates with a girl. He thought her name was Lisa.

"Oh that. Wouldn't have worked out," OC said dismissively. "I basically told her if we kept seeing each, I was going to fuck someone else. She wasn't into the idea of an open relationship," OC finished with a shrug.

"Okay then," Bah said, thinking OC's comment was a little harsh. He sure hoped OC was a little nicer to her face.

"So last night?" Silky started again, grabbing his practice jersey and throwing it on. "It was good?"

"Hell yeah. I needed more stamina with her than I do at practice," OC said. "Six times," he added, with a big smile.

"Damn, where can I find me one of those?" Silky said.

"That club seemed to be filled with slutty, one night stand type. I might go back sometime," OC said, throwing on his practice jersey.

"Except some of them were married sluts."

OC laughed. "She was married?" he asked, though knowing exactly who Silky was talking about.

"I don't want to talk about it," Silky said, and he and OC began heading out to the ice.

"Can you believe them?" Bah asked Verchota. "OC's a jack ass."

Rizzo overheard them. "Guys, it's mostly just talk. OC says things to impress Silky. It's always been that way. They're in a constant competition. Don't get me wrong, OC probably did sleep with that girl. They probably didn't do it six times though, and I know it wasn't as good as he says."

"How do women even deal with his shit, though? The things he says…"

"He's a different person when he's alone with a girl he cares about. He's really respectful. It's the ones he doesn't care about that he trashes." Rizzo saw the look of disbelief on Bah's face and added, "I've seen the respectful OC, so I know it _does_ exist."

"We better get on the ice," Verchota commented. "Herb will have our heads if we're late."

The guys headed onto the ice with Bah thinking, _I can't believe Emma likes that guy!_ Ever since Bah realized that Emma must have feelings for OC, Bah had taken mental notes on OC. Emma didn't have a brother to look after her, so Bah stepped into that brotherly role, always feeling the need to protect her. Bah knew she was old enough to take care of herself, but since he was always the one to pick up the pieces, Bah figured he was entitled to protect her beforehand. _There's no way I'm letting OC get near her. Respectful to girls he cares about or not, Emma deserves better._ Now Bah just wondered if there were any mutual feelings as far as OC was concerned. If OC didn't have an interest in Emma, then Bah wouldn't even have to worry about it. _But how do I find that out? _Bah wondered, trying to come up with a way to figure it out.


	14. Chapter 13: Crush

NellieBly413672: Thanks! Glad you liked it. You won't find out how Emma reacts to OC sleeping with the sleezy girl this chapter, but you will find out something else… like maybe who Riley's next hook up will be…

LTJM: I love OC so I can promise something will happen with someone. I know that's very vague, but it's supposed to be – I want to keep you guessing, lol. Thanks for the review!

Septembrisms: lol, Yes Emma deserves much better. She'll have a chance at better too. Thanks for the review, hope you like what's next.

Skyler1510: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like it and that I have you excited for the next chapter!

dogdaysareover: Glad you liked it and thanks for the review! Hope you like this one too.

A/N: Okay, as promised, here's another chapter. Please review! They motivate me to post faster! lol

**Chapter 13: Crush**

The next week, the team had three road games and three losses against three more NHL teams. They played the St. Louis Blues, the Atlanta Flames, and the Washington Capitals. Friday night, everyone was beat and back in Minnesota to rest before their next two game road trip next week. Everyone was meeting at the local bar to relax and enjoy the night.

Emma walked into the bar a little after seven that Friday night. The guys were supposed to be there already, and she spotted them at a corner table when she walked in. She brought one of her best girl friends, Heather, because she really want to meet the guys Emma was always hanging out with. Emma was a little reluctant to bring Heather, because although they were good friends, Emma had always been a little jealous of Heather. Heather was like Emma in many ways personality wise, but unlike Emma, Heather was really pretty. Actually, it wasn't even that Heather was pretty, but Heather flaunted her body in ways Emma didn't. She always got more attention from guys and Emma knew that by bringing Heather, she was practically setting herself up. She knew Heather would get the guy's attention, and she knew Heather would be willing to go home with someone. It was just a matter of which guy.

Meanwhile, Riley was at the bar, but avoiding Silky. Ever since sleeping with him, she tried to avoid him. After hearing what Silky really thought about it, it was easier not to go near him. She knew talking to him would be awkward. She wasn't upset, but she didn't know what to say to him. Even though it had been almost two weeks, but it didn't seem like that long ago because the last two weeks were so busy.

Since Riley came with Rammer, Christian, Mark, and Pav she tried to stay near them for the night. At one point, Riley ended up sitting alone next to Rammer. They just talked casually and sipped their beers until Rammer turned the conversation serious.

"So Riley… I heard about you and Silky," Rammer said, now turning in his chair to face her.

"Everyone heard about me and Silky," she responded. She knew the locker room would probably find out, but Riley just hoped it wouldn't make things awkward around everyone.

"I was just wondering if you like him?"

"No, I don't," Riley responded cooly, now also turning her body to face Rammer. "Is everyone else going to hear about that too?" Riley asked with a slight attitude noticeable.

"No," Rammer said, and then asked, "Do you not like him because you're mad at him?"

"I never liked him," Riley lied, and then changed her story slightly because it looked like Rammer didn't believe her. "I mean, I liked him as a friend, but nothing more. I'm not mad at him"

"Oh, okay," Rammer said. "But you just slept with him? Even though you only liked him as a friend?"

"Yeah," Riley said. "I wanted to."

"You're into casual sex?" Rammer asked, sounding surprised. He knew most girls weren't.

"Yeah. What's wrong with that?" Riley asked, defensive.

"Nothing at all," Rammer said with a smile. "I was just wondering."

Next, Riley leaned into Rammer and put her hands on his thighs. "Do you want to get out of here?" she asked.

"Riley, I don't want to sleep with you."

"I didn't ask you to sleep with me."

"You're implying it."

Riley rolled her eyes. "I just want to go. I'm tired."

"I'll take you back to Herb's then."

"I can stay at the dorms," Riley said. "We can watch a movie. I just want to relax, but I don't want to sit home alone."

"You wouldn't be alone," Rammer said, knowing Herb and his family would all be home.

"You know what I mean," Riley said rolling her eyes.

"All right. Let's go watch a movie," Rammer said with a sigh.

They left the bar and went back to the dorms where they ended up watching TV. After about an hour, they started talking more than watching TV though.

"Rammer, do the guys like me?" Riley asked.

Rammer didn't respond for a minute, trying to come up with an honest but kind response. Instead, he just said, "Riley, of course they like you."

"Okay. I was just wondering."

Rammer noticed that Riley looked suddenly sad, like something was missing.

"Riley, why did you move here?"

Riley looked at Rammer, sensing that he knew something was going on.

"My dad died."

"I'm so sorry," Rammer said sincerely.

"It's hard because I don't know whether people really like having me here. And you guys are the only people I have. I can't even talk to my family anymore."

"Well, you can talk to me anytime," Rammer said, now sort of understanding where the teen was coming from. Rammer instantly had a lot more respect for her, now knowing what she was going through.

"Thanks Rammer. That means a lot," Riley said with a smile. A tear ran down her cheek. "I'm sorry," she said, wiping it away.

Rammer moved a hand up to her cheek and wiped another tear away for her. He didn't say anything but just looked into Riley's sad eyes. _No wonder she wants someone so bad,_ Rammer thought, remembering the stories he heard from both Mac and Silky. _She feels so alone._

Next thing he knew, Rammer was leaning in to kiss Riley. He couldn't even say exactly what made him do it, because he wasn't attracted to her at all. Riley kissed him back eagerly and roughly. Rammer slid down and laid on the bed with Riley on top of him. They kissed hungrily for a few minutes, until Rammer pushed Riley back.

"Riley, we have to stop. I'm sorry, but I can't go any farther. It's not that I don't want to, but I really don't want a one night stand," Rammer said, partially lying. He was telling the truth in that he didn't want a one night stand, but Rammer was lying when he said 'it's not that I don't want to' because he had no interest in sleeping with Riley.

Riley just looked at him, but didn't argue.

"I'm sorry," Rammer said again, wishing he didn't even kiss her. He still didn't know why he did it. Rammer felt absolutely nothing while kissing her either. "I'll take you home."

Riley nodded, thinking that going home was probably a good idea. She appreciated that Rammer was honest with her. _He didn't use the lame excuse of me being 'too young'. It sounds like he wouldn't want a one night stand with anyone._ Riley knew it wasn't her, it was him, and she could accept that.

* * *

Meanwhile, most of the guys were still at the bar, having a good time. Bah noticed that Emma didn't seem to be though, and walked over to where she was sitting.

"What's going on?" Bah asked, grabbing the empty seat next to Emma, where OC had been sitting minutes before. He followed Emma's stare over to where Heather and OC were dancing. "Oooohhhh, I get it," he said.

"Get what?" Emma asked innocently, like she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Heather and OC. You're jealous."

"Am not," she responded, swirling the straw in her mixed drink.

"Are too. It's obvious you like him. All night, you've been trying to talk to OC and every time you do, Heather cut in. OC gave all of his attention to her, and I saw the looks on your face. And it's not just tonight either. Every time you hang out with us, you do everything you can to be near OC."

"Is it that obvious?" Emma asked, knowing she couldn't lie about her crush – especially not to Bah. She didn't bother trying to evade the truth around him anymore.

"Maybe not to anyone else, but I can see it. I'm your best friend. What do you expect?" Bah said with a shrug.

"Ugh. It's just frustrating because Heather knows damn well that I like him. I've told her countless times. And just because he's hot and is giving her the attention she wants, she's taking it."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Em. OC is just flirting with her because she's here, and she's a new face. Nothing will happen between them," Bah said, but deep down, he really wanted Emma to just forget about OC.

"Oh yeah?" Emma challenged. "If nothing will happen then why are they walking out the door with their arms around each other?"

Bah glanced over to the door and saw exactly what Emma told him. "I think OC's just holding her up," he joked, trying to make Emma smile. It sort of worked. Emma rolled her eyes and gave him a slight smile, because he was sort of right. Heather was half stumbling out the door. It didn't make Emma feel much better though.

Bah really wanted to warn Emma about OC, but he just couldn't do right then. She was already partly upset, and saying anything would make her angry too. Bah didn't want Emma to be angry at him too. He hated Emma's angry side, because it could get to the point of scary.

* * *

A little while later, Emma had about enough of being at the bar and was ready to leave. Unfortunately, it seemed that Bah had disappeared somewhere. The bar wasn't that big, but Emma couldn't find him and since they drove together, it looked like she wouldn't be leaving.

"Are you looking for someone?" Mark asked when she sat back down at the table after walking around the bar.

"Yeah. Bah. I wanted to get going, but he's my ride."

"Well, I was going to head out now, if you don't mind walking back, you can join me." Mark knew Emma's apartment was really close to the dorms.

"Okay, sure," Emma said, glad to have someone to walk with so she could leave. Mark and Emma said their goodbyes and headed out. Emma told Verchota to let Bah know she left.

Emma didn't mind walking because the dorms and her apartment were only a ten minute walk, but after they started walking, Emma realized it was quite a bit colder than when she left earlier.

"Are you cold?" Mark asked, noticing that Emma looked cold.

"I'm okay."

"Are you sure? You look cold."

"I'm a little chilly, but we don't have far to walk."

Mark pulled off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. "Here, this will help."

"Thanks Mark. I don't want you to be cold now though."

"I'm fine." Mark responded. "So, do you have any big plans for this weekend?"

"Not really. I might go see that new movie, 'When a Stranger Calls'."

"That movie looks good! I take it you like horror movies?"

"They're my favorite. Unfortunately, Heather hates horror movies, and Bah took Kristen last week, so neither of my top two movie going buddies will want to go." After a few seconds, Emma got an idea. "Hey, maybe some of the guys would want to go. You said you think it looks good, would you want to go?"

"Sure," Mark said, trying to hide his excitement. When he met Emma, he felt an instant connection. It was weird, because Mark never really felt that before - he wasn't even sure it was a crush until he got to know Emma better. Mark knew he was shy when it came to asking girls out though, especially if he didn't know how they felt about him, so he never made a move. The most Mark did was talk to Emma, _but that hasn't led anywhere yet_, he thought.

"How about we plan on tomorrow then? I know you guys have a team meeting in the morning, so you could find out if anyone else wanted to go, and then let me know. We'll plan on going to an eight o'clock-ish show?"

"Sounds great! I'll ask the guys tomorrow," Mark said.

* * *

As the guys were arriving for the team meeting the next morning, Rammer got Silky's attention.

"You're right," Rammer said, leaving Silky to wonder what he was talking about.

"I usually am. But what specifically am I right about this time?" Silky asked with a smile.

"She's easier than kindergarten math."

"What?" Silky wondered. "Kindergarten math?"

"He's talking about Riley," Pav said, having heard the conversation.

"You fucked her?" Silky asked. "Good for you," he told Rammer before Rammer even had chance to answer. Jimmy just glared at Silky, silently asking Silky if he had imagined their whole conversation the other night. Jimmy really thought Silky was going to make things right, but now it seemed he was back to his old, insensitive self.

"No. But I could have. She came onto me big time," Rammer told Silky.

"Isn't that weird?" Mac asked, also hearing the guy's conversation. "She's willing to do anything to get some."

Rammer and Silky just shrugged and they all grabbed seats in the meeting room. Rammer was actually holding his tongue because he didn't want to tell Mac he thought he knew why she acted the way she did. He knew what Riley told him was more or less, in confidence. Silky didn't say anything because he was still trying to decide how to apologize to her.

As the guys were finding seats, Mark noticed an empty seat next to Mac and grabbed it. He needed to talk to Mac about Emma.

"What's up Mark?" Mac asked Mark as he sat down. "It looks like you have something on your mind."

"Yeah… Emma wants to see that 'When a Stranger Calls' movie, and she wanted to round up a bunch of guys to go," Mark said, sort of hesitating like he had something else to add. Mac picked up on it. He knew Mark had a thing for Emma. They were roommates, and Mark often asked Mac for girl advice. Most recently, specific advice about Emma.

"I can't tonight, and I heard most of the guys are already busy with stuff," Mac said, sort of vaguely, but it worked for Mark.

"Okay," Mark said with a smile. "Thanks man."

"You're welcome," Mac said, hitting his friend on the back. _Clearly the made up excuse was what Mark wanted to hear, _Mac thought.

Instead of going right back to the dorms after the meeting, Mark took a detour and went to Emma's. He knew her apartment from dropping her off the previous night, but after he got there, he felt funny just showing up. _Well, I'm already here,_ he thought, and knocked on the door. Emma answered, wearing sweats and a t-shirt, her hair thrown in a messy ponytail, looking really comfortable.

"Hey, Mark. Sorry I'm sort of a mess right now. I was cleaning. What's up?" she asked. She wasn't going to say it, but she was sort of surprised to see him. _Why would he walk over here for no real reason?_

"That's okay," Mark said. He would have went on to assure her that she looked cute, but thought against it because it might be a little awkward. "I talked to some of the guys, and everyone seems to be busy tonight. If you still want to go though, I'm game."

"Sure, let's go then. It'll be fun," Emma said. Mark was a nice guy and she thought he would be fun to hang out with. Having another movie going buddy would be nice. The two planned that Mark would pick her up at seven-thirty, and Mark went on his way back to the dorms.


	15. Chapter 14: Never Meant to Hurt You

NellieBly413672: Glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing! And just to clarify, I sort of used the definition of hook up loosely. Riley's not going to sleep with Rammer or anything – I only had plans for them to sort of make out, so I guess it was a sort of hook up, lol. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

LTJM: There will be more Mark and Emma to come. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

Septembrisms: You'll see how it goes in this chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

dogdaysareover: Thanks for the review – the chapter you've been waiting for is now waiting for you lol. (It's this one!) Enjoy!

A/N: Thanks again for the reviews. Let me know what you think about this chapter! It picks up on the night of Mark and Emma's 'date'.

**Chapter 14: Never Meant to Hurt You**

Emma and Mark both really enjoyed the movie that Saturday night. Mark actually enjoyed being with Emma more than he cared about the movie, but she didn't need to know that. Not yet anyway.

When they got back to Emma's apartment, Mark insisted on walking her up to make sure she got in okay.

"You're so sweet Mark. I don't understand how you're single. You're the nicest, most genuine guys on the team, and one of the nicest, most genuine guys I know."

Mark with his now bright red face, shrugged, not knowing how else to respond.

"And you're so modest," Emma said with a laugh.

"Well, I don't see why you're single either," Mark said, sort of hesitantly. He didn't know how far he wanted to go with that. Then he continued. "You're funny, pretty, smart, and when you laugh, your smile can just light up a room."

Emma smiled and blushed like Mark had seconds before. "Thanks, Mark. Well, I guess I'll see you around soon."

"Great." As Emma was going inside her apartment Mark stopped her once more. "I had a lot of fun tonight, Em," he said, using Bah's nickname for Emma.

"Me too Mark," Emma said with a smile. "We should do movie night again sometime."

Mark liked the idea of that.

Emma slept really well that night, but Mark tossed and turned. He liked Emma a lot, but didn't know how to tell her, or if he even wanted to tell her. If she didn't like him, Mark didn't want things to go from friendship to awkwardness, and if Emma did like him, Mark knew that a relationship would probably only realistically last until the Olympics were over, and he didn't really know if he really wanted that, or if she would want that.

_Why can't I have confidence like OC and Verchota? _Mark thought. _Well, I don't want to be exactly like them, _he thought after. Mark knew he would make a better boyfriend than most of the other guys on the team, because he was so caring and trustworthy, but he was always too quiet around girls. _Maybe I'm too nice?_ he thought, wishing he knew what to do about his feelings for Emma.

* * *

Monday morning, Bah ran into Mark on the way to bus. They were heading off to play in a two game road trip.

"I heard you went to see that movie with Emma over the weekend," Bah said, just making conversation.

"Yeah, I think we both had a good time."

"Thanks for going. She really wanted to see that movie, and she was so mad when I told her I went with Kristen."

"It was no problem. I wanted to go. She's a lot of fun to be around."

Bah gave Mark a funny look. _Did Mark like Emma?_ Bah wondered.

"I mean," Mark started, "Emma's nice. A great friend. You're lucky."

"Just a friend?" Bah asked. He wouldn't mind if Mark liked Emma. For one, Mark was a really nice guy. Second, Mark just might be able to take Emma's mind off of OC.

"All right, fine," Mark said, groaning. "You're going to somehow find out eventually anyway." Then he half whispered, even though no one was really around to overhear him, "I like her okay. I've liked Emma from the day we met."

_Boy, I'm getting good at this, _Bah thought. _First, I knew Emma liked OC, and now I totally picked up that Mark likes Emma. Maybe I can practice my matchmaking skills._

"Are you going to respond to that?" asked Mark. "Because the way you're not saying anything makes me a little concerned."

"I think that's great that you like her!" Bah responded enthusiastically. A little too enthusiastically.

"Do I tell her?" Mark wondered, picking up on Bah's enthusiasm. "I don't know what she'd think. I don't want to ruin a chance at friendship by confessing that I like her as more than a friend."

After thinking for a minute, Bah responded, "Don't tell her yet. I'll try to see what she thinks first." He would hate to see Mark get turned down, and since Emma could be unpredictable, Bah figured he gauge her feelings for Mark first. Besides that, if Emma was still hung up on OC, Bah knew she would turn Mark down.

* * *

On the bus that morning, Silky grabbed the empty seat next to Riley. _Now or never_, he thought.

"Hey Silky," Riley said as he sat down. She sounded indifferent, like she was saying hi to a friend. _Good sign, _Silky thought. He still hadn't really talked to her at all since he slept with her.

"Mind if I sit with you?" he asked.

"Go right ahead," Riley said.

As everyone got settled in their seats, Riley and Silky didn't talk, but it wasn't because they were avoiding it either. There was just too much other talking going on between everyone else. Finally, once everyone was seated and the bus began moving, things quieted down a bit.

"I need to talk to you," Silky said seriously.

"About?" Riley asked, sounding like there was nothing Silky should need to talk to her about.

"I think you might know what."

"I don't think there's anything to talk about," Riley said, though not sounding bitter or upset at all. "Especially not here," she added.

"I really think we should talk, Riley," Silky said. "Find me later when no one's around or something. I need to talk to you."

* * *

Later on, Silky found Riley in the hallway near the locker room. It was before the game, so Silky knew he didn't have much time to talk to her.

"Riley, wait up," he said, having spotted her as she began walking toward the direction of the rink. She stopped allowing Silk to catch up.

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened," he started.

"What about it?"

"I'm… I'm sorry," Silky said, almost having trouble with the apology. He hated admitting he was wrong in doing something,

"Why?" Riley asked, sounding like she was truly curious.

"Because… what I did - I shouldn't have," Silk said, stumbling upon his words.

"You mean the sex?" Riley asked. Silk looked around as if to make sure no one else was around. Riley noticed this and commented, "What? So now you're afraid of someone overhearing? The team knows," Riley added.

"That's my fault," Silk admitted, looking slightly guilty.

"I don't care," Riley said with a smile. "There are worse things than people knowing we had sex. I'm not ashamed or anything, and by the things I've heard, I know you're not either."

"Look Riley, I'm sorry we – I mean, I'm sorry _I…_ took advantage," he said. Silk now sounded unsure, because 'taking advantage' wasn't how he liked to put it.

"You didn't take advantage of me. I wanted it as much as you. I agreed."

"But I should have stopped myself."

"Why?" Riley asked. "What makes what we did so wrong?"

"You know," Silky said, giving the teen a knowing look. Riley raised her eyebrows as if to say she didn't know. "I took away something you can never get back."

"Silky, what makes you think I wanted to hold onto it?" Riley asked, almost challenging him.

"Well, umm," Silky started, not being able to come up with anything.

"I wanted to have sex with you," Riley said again, trying to make it clear to Silky that he didn't do anything wrong. Riley wasn't mad and she didn't hold anything against him.

"But-"

"No buts," Riley said. "Silk, you made me feel alive."

"I feel bad about this," Silky admitted.

"Don't," Riley said, putting her hand on his arm for emphasis. "Don't feel bad for letting me experience that. It's hard to explain, but it really felt amazing – like someone cared about me. Whether you really cared about me or not, that's not even the point."

Now it was Silky's turn to look completely confused. He had no idea why Riley was so happy about this. _Besides, how did she know I never cared about her?_ he wondered, slightly horrified. He thought about making something up to correct her thinking.

"I should be thanking you," Riley said, not giving him a chance to respond.

"Why?" Silky wondered, not really meaning to ask out loud. He was almost afraid of the answer.

"Because you did me a favor. I feel like you guys all saw me as a kid before. Now you guys all know that I'm not. I'm so much-" Riley was cut off when she heard Herb and Coach Patrick walking down the hall.

"I better go," Silk said. "See ya later." He went into the locker room leaving Riley in the hallway.

Silky was still really confused by Riley and their conversation. He didn't get why she was so happy, especially if she did know that Silky didn't even like her. _Is she that messed up? _He wondered. _What could have possibly happened to make her life suck that much? At least she isn't pissed at me,_ Silky thought. He wasn't sure that he would say anything to the guys about that conversation though. One, he didn't want to admit to the rest of the guys he thought he was wrong for sleeping with her – it would ruin his reputation. Two, he had no idea what he would even tell the guys because he was so confused himself. _Riley obviously has something going on with her. Why else would she act so weird? It sounds like she wants to have casual sex. Girls usually aren't like that. Especially not high school girls. Even if they are, I don't know any so quick to admit it._

* * *

When the team returned from their road trip, having won both games, they were all in a very good mood. They were playing the Canadian National Team again the next night, but that night the guys wanted to go out. Since they were playing the following night, they weren't planning on drinking heavily, they just wanted to go out for a few beers. Bah invited Emma, hoping to start the match making process between her and Mark.

Unfortunately, his plan didn't go exactly as he foresaw. When everyone arrived at the bar, Bah managed to walk in with both Emma and Mark. The three of them sat at a table and minutes later, were joined by Pav and Verchota. So far, things were looking up. Emma and Mark were sitting next to each other, but when Bah came back with beer for the table, Emma was gone.

"Where's Em?" he asked his friends.

"She went to say hi to the other guys," Mark responded.

Bah looked to the door and saw that OC, Rizzo, Silky and Mac just walked in. _Great,_ he thought. _OC's here. Just what I need._

A half hour into the evening, Emma was still hanging close to OC and that crowd. Meanwhile, Mark was also trying to get closer to Emma. He noticed an opportunity when OC left the group.

"Hey Emma," he said. "Hey guys," he added an as afterthought.

"Hey Mark. What's up?" Emma said. She was glad that Mark came over when OC went to use the bathroom, because she had forgot he was even at the bar. Earlier she had been talking to Mark, but when OC came in, she left the table, saying she'd be back.

"Need a refill?" Mark asked, noticing Emma's glass was near empty.

"Umm, no thanks. I'm good," Emma said. She declined because she was really hoping OC would offer to buy her a drink. As Mark and Emma were talking, Emma noticed OC walking over to another girl at the bar. He began talking to her and was playfully putting her arm on his shoulder and flirting. OC flirted right back. Jealousy was brewing inside Emma. She wanted to go over there and somehow stop it, but she didn't know what to do. And Mark just kept talking.

"So, what do you think?" Mark asked, apparently finishing a comment Emma hadn't paid attention to.

"Um, I'm sorry. About what?"

Mark followed her gaze and immediately noticed Emma had been distracted by OC. He was hurt.

"You know what, forget it," he said, trying not to sound too upset. After all, he wasn't telling Emma what he felt about her, so she had no way of knowing he liked her. If she would give him a chance though, Mark knew that Emma would like him. As far as he knew, Emma was wasting her time on OC anyway, because OC never gave off any signs that he liked her.

Mark walked back to the table, leaving Emma alone to walk over to join OC.

"Hey," Emma said wrapping her arms around OC. She was trying to be as flirty as this other bimbo.

"Emma?" he said. "What are you doing?" OC laughed, not having a clue what Emma was up to. She couldn't be that drunk, because she wasn't even tipsy when he left five minutes beforehand. He tried to take her hands off of him.

"Do you know her?" the other girl asked.

"She's a friend. Just a friend," OC responded, with emphasis on friend.

"Wanna dance?" Emma asked, pulling him away by the arm. He pushed Emma away.

"No. I want to continue talking to Kim, like I was doing before you came over here and interrupted us."

"Jack," Emma began, "you promised you'd come back after using the bathroom. I know I was talking to Mark, but you could have interrupted."

"Emma, I only used the bathroom as an excuse to get away from you. You've been with me all night. People might start to think we're together or something. I don't want _that_!"

Emma let go of OC immediately, his words hitting her like a lead balloon. _He still doesn't realize I like him. With everything I do, how could he not get it? _Emma was so frustrated, she was to the point of tears.

Emma turned away and practically ran out the doors of the bar. She was in tears before she made it out of the parking lot. At this point, Emma stopped and just began crying.

Meanwhile, Bah noticed Emma run out of the bar and he decided to chase after her. _Pick up the pieces once again,_ he thought_._

"Emma wait!" he called out, seeing her walking down the sidewalk. Emma chose not to listen.

"Please stop! I want to talk to you!"

"I don't have anything to talk about!" Emma shouted, but kept walking. Bah finally caught up to her and grabbed her arm.

"Emma, please tell me what happened."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?" Bah asked, giving her the face he always used to get his way.

Emma caved and told him the whole story, sparing no details.

"He still doesn't get that I like him!" she finished with. "Is he that dense?"

"Are you?" Bah scoffed.

"Excuse me?" she responded.

"He likes you, Emma."

"Who?" Emma asked, knowing Bah wasn't talking about OC. She wiped away some tears from her cheeks.

"Mark. He likes you. He has since he met you."

"No he doesn't," Emma said, stating what she thought was obvious.

"Yeah, okay, and I'm just telling you this because I wanted to lie to my best friend," Bah said sarcastically.

Emma gave Bah a funny look. She was so confused. "I had no idea," Emma finally said.

"You're too preoccupied with trying to get OC to notice you that you never noticed what was right in front of you."

"Wow," Emma said, still having a hard time believing it.

"And if I were you, I'd give up on OC. He doesn't like you. Trust me."

"Sure, 'Mr. Know It All', because you know everything," Emma said, rolling her eyes.

"I know this."

"What makes you so sure?"

"He thinks of you as a friend. Besides, you deserve better anyway. Do you have any idea how many women he's been with since he got here?" Bah hoped Emma wouldn't want an answer, because Bah knew it hadn't been _that_ many. It was just that the ones he was with were sleazy.

Since Emma didn't respond, Bah continued, "And the way he trash talks women he's been with in the locker room is repulsive."

"He only talks about women like that because they're one night stands," Emma said, as if she knew what was going on in OC's mind.

"Emma!" Bah yelled, getting angry. "He doesn't like you. He said that-" Bah stopped, not actually wanting to tell her.

"What Bah? What did he say?" Emma said, raising her voice.

"Nothing Emma."

"Clearly he said something." Then Emma realized what was going on. "What did you tell him?"

"Nothing Em, please just drop it. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"John Harrington, tell me what you said right now!" Emma shouted in the middle of the empty street. Her voice practically echoed.

"Em, I told you, nothing."

"Don't 'Em' me. What the fuck did you say?" Bah was slightly taken a back. Emma never spoke that way, and looked completely lived. He decided he better be honest.

"The other day, me, OC, Rizzo, and Verchota were the last in the locker room, and I asked what the guys in general what they thought of you and if they thought you were 'dateable'."

"You asked if they thought I was dateable?" Emma said in disbelief and with slight disgust.

"I didn't ask if they wanted to date you, I just asked if they thought a guy in general would want to date you."

"Why?" Emma asked, not so much from curiosity, but sounding horrified.

"Rizzo and Verchota said yes. OC had something else to say," Bah said, dodging her actual question. He didn't want to tell her that he was hoping OC would say something mean.

"What did he say?" Emma wondered, forgetting her previous question.

Bah didn't want to tell her but went ahead anyway. "First, he asked if you really had that much trouble getting a date."

"That much trouble? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I think he said it because I made it sound like I was wondering why you haven't gone on a date in a while."

"How long is a while?"

"I didn't specify."

"They probably think I'm some crazy girl that tries to get my friend to find dates for me. Thanks," Emma said sarcastically. "What else happened?"

"Well, OC said something about being more like Riley, and you would get some action. Then he said that to him, and I quote, you "weren't datable," you were… "fuckable," Bah said guiltily, looking away so he wouldn't see Emma's face.

"He said _what_?" Emma asked, outraged. "How could he? Why would he even say that?"

"I don't know," Bah said. "But he basically went on to say that I should tell you that he would sleep with you, if you ever wanted a quick, easy, fuck, but if he ever wanted to date someone, he find a more attractive girl that had major skills in the bedroom, because it has to be good to last." Bah knew it was harsh and he felt bad, but he really wanted his best friend to get the message that she was waiting and hoping for something that was never going to happen. "I'm sorry," Bah said.

"Go away!" Emma yelled starting to walk in the direction of her apartment once again.

"Em, I'm sorry," Bah said.

"Get the hell away from me!" Emma said, on the verge of tears still walking, but now more quickly.

"Please, talk to me."

"I want you to stay the fuck away from me!" Emma said, and pushed him away as he got close. "I don't want to talk, especially not to you."

"Emma, I was just telling you what he said."

"I don't care. Bah – we're best friends. Why would you say those things?"

"It was OC!" Bah said in defense. "I was relaying the message."

"I don't care. I don't want to talk to you about this, and I don't want to even look at you right now!"

Bah finally decidedly to let Emma go. He normally wouldn't let her walk alone, but she would probably kill him if he came anywhere near her. Bah felt really bad because he never meant to hurt her feelings. Not wanting to go back to the bar, Bah headed to the dorms himself, but made sure he stayed far behind Emma.


	16. Chapter 15: What I Like About You

NellieBly413672: Glad you liked the Silky/Riley interaction. I tried to make it somewhat awkward because of the underlying reasons for everything that's been going on. And the Emma thing, you'll find out how everything works out soon. Thanks for reviewing!

LTJM: Thanks for the review! Emma will get over being upset… and you'll have to see about her and Mark!

Septembrisms: Nope, Bah's plan isn't working so far. You'll have to wait and see if it works coming up. Thanks for reviewing.

dogdaysareover: Hmm, you'll have to see. Thanks for the review!

Saturnian Sorceress: Thank you so much for the review! Someone will come through as Emma's knight in shining armor. You'll just have to keep reading to see who! Also, I'm glad you like Buzz and Gayle. I love adding in cute little fluff, so there will definitely be more of them coming up. There's even a little in this chapter!

Birdcrap: Thanks so much for the review. I don't want to give anything away, but I can promise that you will be happy with how things work out…

A/N: Okay, I just want to say THANK YOU for all of the reviews! I really loved the comments. Second, I'm really sorry I couldn't get this chapter up any sooner. Usually I try to post quickly if I get a lot of reviews, but it didn't work out that way this time. That being said, I will definitely be posting again on Sunday, to reward my wonderful readers for the wonderful reviews! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 15: What I Like About You**

Sunday afternoon, Bah and Emma took advantage of a halfway warm day to have a picnic in the park. Bah really wanted to enjoy some alone time with Kristen, but with the fight with Emma fresh in his mind, it was hard to do. He tried calling a few times a day since their big fight two days ago, but she wouldn't answer her phone. At one point, Bah even tried going to her apartment, but she wasn't answering her door. Of course, she might have been out, but Bah thought she was home and was just being Emma. She was probably going to make him beg for forgiveness.

"You seem like you're somewhere else today, Bah," Kristen said, trying to regain his attention.

"I'm sorry. It's just…" Bah stopped, not really wanting to go into details. It wasn't fair to bring the topic of Emma up when they were supposed to be enjoying time together.

"You can tell me," Kristen said.

Bah sighed. "You don't want to know.

"Try me," she said with a smile, running her right index finger up and down Bah's arm.

"It's about Emma."

"What happened?" Kristen asked, understanding.

"We had a fight," Bah said. He felt really bad bringing Emma into their day, but he knew Kristen did understand. At first, he really thought Kristen would be jealous of his relationship with Emma. Most girls were. Kristen was different though. Bah attributed it to the fact that her best friend was a guy. Besides that, Kristen knew Emma before Bah started seeing her, so she already knew their relationship was totally platonic.

"Don't make this like pulling teeth, Bah. Talk to me," Kristen urged. The one thing she disliked about Bah was his beating around the bush. She knew when things were bothering him, but he rarely talked to her about them unless she specifically asked. It seemed this way especially if it was about Emma. Kristen sensed that he felt bad bringing Emma up in conversation.

"Okay, here it goes," Bah said, and told Kristen the whole story of Emma, OC, and Mark, and their fight, sparing no details.

"Better?" Kristen asked, wondering if getting his concerns off his chest helped.

"Much," Bah said, nodding. "But I need your advice. Emma's so pissed; she might never talk to me again."

"Give her time. You two are best friends. She won't let a stupid fight change that."

"Thanks for being so understanding, Kristen." It was one of the many things Bah really liked about her. She was so understanding.

"Hey, we've been there with Dan," she said, talking about her best friend.

"But I still feel bad."

"Well, if you really feel the need to make it up to me…" Kristen began, trailing off as she kissed Bah.

After a mini make out session, kept G rated because they were outside, they lied on the blanket and looked at the clouds.

"That one looks like a dog," Emma said, pointing to one of the clouds.

"The one over there looks like a beer bottle," Bah said, also pointing.

The couple continued pointing out clouds until Bah pointed out what he thought looked like a hockey puck.

"Is all you ever think about hockey?" Kristen asked, teasing him.

"No," he answered. "I think about other things."

"Somehow I doubt that."

"Why's that?" Bah wondered.

"Because that cloud doesn't look anything like a hockey puck."

"I do think about other things," Bah said, now half sitting up and leaning over Kristen. His arms were on either side of her head and his face was close to hers.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Like how I want you to be my girlfriend," Bah said. Then he clarified. "My official girlfriend. I know we've been dating for a while, but I'm ready to take it to the next level. I want to be able to tell people that you're my girlfriend, not just the girl I'm dating."

Kristen smiled. "I would love to call you my boyfriend."

Bah smiled. "Good," he said and kissed his now girlfriend.

* * *

Friday night, a week after the guys were out all together last time, most of the team decided to go out to the bar near the dorms for a while because they had a game that evening, won it, and didn't have practice the next morning. Not that they needed an excuse like winning to go out, but they couldn't pass up the opportunity either.

Both Riley and Emma had been invited that evening, along with Gayle and Kristen. Except for Emma, the three girls were all at the game, so they arrived with everyone else. Now they were just waiting on Emma's arrival. Mark was particularly excited that Emma was joining the group that night, but a little nervous as well. He knew Bah talked to her about the previous weekend's events, but Mark didn't know exactly what he said. He had a feeling he told Emma that OC wasn't interested in her, but he also thought that Bah might have mentioned something about him liking Emma. Bah tried to deny that part, but Mark wasn't so sure. Mark was just glad that no one on the team other than Bah and Mac knew that he liked Emma yet. At least Bah was keeping his mouth shut about that.

No sooner did they sit down at the table when Verchota said, "Hey guys, look at the blonde that just walked in."

"No wonder you wanted that seat," Buzz said. Verchota had a perfect view of the door.

"She's hot," Mac and Christen agreed.

"She's smokin'," said OC. "I'd hit that."

Bah didn't answer for a minute, not being able to shake the feeling that he knew the girl. She was pretty, but there was something else. "Oh my God! That's Emma!"

"No it's not, Bah," Buzz commented. Then he looked harder. "Damn, it _is_ Emma!"

A platinum blonde Emma walked over to their table.

"Emma, what the hell?" Bah said first. When he spoke to Emma earlier in the week, she said she was over everything that happened. She wasn't mad at Bah anymore, and Bah really thought she was over OC as well as the fight. Now her hair was blonde and Bah was looking at a totally different Emma.

"I wanted a change," was her response as she shrugged like the change was minuscule. The change was anything but a small one though.

"You look like a Barbie doll," Riley muttered so Emma couldn't hear her.

Mark glanced at Riley to tell her he shared that thought. It was probably the only thing they would ever agree on. Emma did look like a Barbie though. Aside from the platinum hair, she had much more makeup than she normally wore, and she was dressed in a really short miniskirt, platform heel shoes, and a low cut tank top.

"I like it," OC said immediately with a huge grin on his face, then winked at her. Mark glared at OC, and then stopped himself. He wasn't going to let him be upset with OC when his teammate didn't know anything about Mark liking the girl.

"Thanks," Emma said with a smile directed at OC. "I'm gonna get a drink before I sit. Anyone want anything?"

"I think we're all good," Bah said, answering for the speechless group. No one could believe the new Emma. Since most of the guys had no idea of the drama with Emma, they were really shocked. Bah was about to get up himself and follow Emma so he could talk to her, but OC beat him to it.

"I'll go with you Emma. I need another drink."

OC followed Emma to the bar and stood behind her when she ordered a cranberry juice and vodka. OC slyly snaked his right arm around her waist, pulled her close, and then lowered his lips to Emma's neck. Emma pushed him off and turned around.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

OC smiled. "What do _you_ think I'm doing?" he asked.

"You're not doing anything," Emma said pointedly. "I want you to leave me alone."

"Come on, Emma. We both know you want me. And I want you."

"That's where you're wrong OC. I don't want you. I don't _need_ you."

"Come on Emma," OC said, now resting both hands on her waist. Emma pushed his hands away. "I mean, I can't believe that I didn't realize it before. Last week when you were shamelessly flirting with me, it finally clicked." OC wrapped his arms around Emma again.

"Get your hands off me," Emma said seriously, once again, pushing OC away.

"Is there a problem?" a guy standing near Emma and OC asked.

"No problem at all," OC said.

"He's just leaving," Emma said, glaring at OC.

"You know where I'll be when you change your mind," OC said, leaving the bar to head back over the table where a few of the guys were still looking at Emma. When OC got back, Silky gave him a look that said, 'Ha, look who just got shot down'.

"She'll be back over here before you know it," OC assured Silk, glancing back over to where Emma was now flirting with the mystery guy. He couldn't believe Emma was flirting with that guy, especially because he now realized Emma liked him. _So now she decides to play hard to get?_ wondered OC.

"What makes you so sure, OC?" Silk asked.

"She's got it bad for me. And since she's hot now, why not?" OC said with a shrug, as if that was the only reason he was now paying attention to her.

* * *

In the meantime, Verchota and Riley were trying to get a game of foosball going. No one else wanted to play though. The two decided to play by themselves.

"I don't actually know how to play," Riley admitted.

"It's easy," Verchota began, and continued to explain.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Riley interrupted as Verchota went on and on.

"Let's just start. You'll figure it out."

They started and had a good time, although Riley still didn't exactly get it. Verchota was intense while playing. He was making Riley dizzy. Well, Riley knew it wasn't just Verchota's rapid movements though. She had a few shots before and now was starting to feel their effect. After their game soon ended, they moved onto something Riley was more comfortable playing. One of the table hockey games.

Soon after they started playing, OC, Bah, and Kristen were all watching their game intensely. Verchota murdered Riley in Foosball, but in table hockey, the score was a lot closer. They took turns scoring and it was pretty even until Riley let in an easy shot.

"You suck Riley!" OC teased her, throwing a crumpled up napkin at her. It was a lot easier for OC to tease the teenager now. Especially if she was drunk. She took the teasing a lot better when she was drunk. Riley still didn't take OC's teasing all that well when she was sober. He still tried though. OC couldn't help it if she was fun to tease. In a weird way, he teased her like he teased his sister, just giving her a hard time about stuff.

Nearing the end of the table hockey game, Emma came over to where they were standing.

"Hey Bah," Emma said, getting his, and OC's attention.

"What's up?"

"I'm leaving now," Emma said, glancing over to the door where the mystery guy from earlier was standing.

"You're leaving?" asked Bah, surprised.

"Yeah," Emma said with a smile that said it all.

"And why are you telling me?" Bah asked, pretending like he didn't care when in reality he cared a lot. Things were not supposed to be happening this way. When he told Emma about OC the week before, she was so mad. He never thought she'd do something like dye her hair to try to get OC to notice her. Besides that, Emma was supposed to like Mark now.

"Oh yeah, that's right. We didn't drive together," Emma said with a laugh, as if she just remembered. Bah knew what she was doing. She was trying to make OC mad.

_Well, from the looks of it, it's working,_ Bah thought. But Emma was also making Bah mad. They were best friends. Bah thought of Emma as a sister. He didn't want her going off with some random guy. Kristen noticed Bah's obvious unease, and wrapped an arm around his waist. She leaned in to tell him something so only he would hear.

"I guess your match making skills need some practice," she said with a smile, attempting to make Bah feel better. Bah tried to smile back, but it was hard to do when he knew Emma was making a big mistake.

As Emma left with the guy, OC was also really pissed. He was pissed because he was, in essence, turned down. No one ever turned OC down, so it wasn't something he was used to. Especially when the girl that turned him down, liked him the week before. OC was still pissed when he began a game of darts with Silky.

"OC, calm down," Silky said, as OC took his turn throwing the darts. "You didn't even want her before tonight."

Not only did Bah and OC become upset over Emma's leaving, but Mark did too. Mark was upset because he liked Emma, and didn't think she was like all the other girls. Now he was seeing a different side of her, and he didn't like it.

_If she's just trying to make OC jealous, then why did she actually leave with that guy? And why the hell is she trying so hard to make OC jealous? Doesn't she realize making him jealous won't accomplish anything?_

While Mark was sulking, and OC remained angry, Riley and Verchota were getting a little cozy. Their game of table hockey was finished, and now they were sitting at the bar, away from the rest of the group. Before tonight, Verchota didn't have much of an opinion of Riley. At times, she could be as annoying as hell, but other times, Verchota was really turned on by her attitude. She was stubborn and didn't take crap from OC or anyone else. Riley did what she wanted, and Verchota sort of liked that about her.

Tonight he thought she looked good too. _Maybe that's because I've already had way too much to drink,_ he thought. Verchota knew his judgments were getting cloudy, and he knew it wasn't a good thing, but he couldn't help it.

At the same time, Riley knew she was wrapping Verchota in, and that was just what she wanted. If he could just give her a chance, maybe he would see more than Riley the coach's teenage niece. As Riley sat next to, but facing Verchota, she placed her arms on his thighs and moved closer.

"Do you want to go? I'm starving. We can grab some tacos from that place across the street." Verchota didn't answer at first but it looked like he was contemplating. "My treat," Riley added, knowing that might make a difference.

"Okay, sure." Riley and Verchota left the bar and went across the street to get their tacos.

* * *

Meanwhile, OC Kristen, Bah, Gayle, and Buzz got a game of pool going. Somehow the teams ended up being girls versus guys.

"How is this fair?" Kristen asked as she lined up to take her shot.

"It's fair," Buzz said. As Kristen got a ball in, he added, "See, you just got one in."

"That was luck," Kristen said.

"Buzz here doesn't like to lose," Gayle said, giving her husband a light pat on the shoulder.

"I don't care about_ losing_," he said. "I just would rather be on Bah's team."

"He _hates_ losing," Gayle said again, just mouthing the words though so Buzz wouldn't hear her. Kristen laughed.

"I don't hate losing!" Buzz said, knowing exactly why Kristen was laughing.

"Okay, so you're telling me that on our first date you didn't accuse me of cheating at putt-putt?"

"He accused you of cheating at putt-putt on your first date?" Kristen asked, surprised.

"Man, that's wrong," Bah said, laughing. He never heard this story.

"Yes he did," Gayle affirmed. "I won, and he insisted that I added the scorecard wrong. When he added and got the same numbers as me, he accused me of cheating." Kristen and Bah were both laughing at this. Gayle began laughing too.

"I thought it was so cute, that competitiveness, that I agreed to a second date," Gayle said, giving a red faced Buzz a quick kiss.

"I can't believe you accused her of cheating!" Bah told his friend.

"I didn't mean it to come off like that," he said. "I just wanted to make sure it was fair. She did only win by three points." After everyone was finished laughing, they continued to play.

The guys dominated, but the girls weren't playing that bad. Because they had a lot less practice playing pool than the guys though, they weren't quite as good. In between turns, Gayle and Kristen got to talk a little. Before that night they had met a few times, but they really didn't know each other that well yet.

"So how did Buzz pop the question?" Kristen asked because they were talking about their relationships.

Gayle laughed. "He just flat out, asked me. It was hardly romantic… but that's what was so perfect about it. It was almost like he asked on a whim, except for the fact that he had a ring."

"Did you ever think about the travel involved in hockey before you said yes?" Kristen wondered.

"Yes and no. I had no doubt in my mind when I said yes, or anytime after that, but before he ever even asked, the doubt was there. It's not that difficult to get used to though. The hardest part is going to be next year, because we don't know what's happening yet."

"NHL?" Kristen wondered.

"Probably not. He was given an offer to play in Germany, but turned it down for this," Gayle said about the Olympic team. "He thinks he'll get a better offer if he waits it out."

"Germany?" Kristen said, surprised. Gayle noticed she looked almost scared. Probably because if things were serious with Bah, Kristen would have a future similar to Gayle's – that of a hockey wife.

"It's not that bad. I'm looking at it as wherever I'm going, I'm going with the one person I love enough to do anything for."

"Aww," Buzz said, having heard his wife's last comment. He kissed her quickly on the head and then said, "Now will you two please stop gabbing long enough to take your turn?"

"Yeah, yeah," Gayle said, getting ready to shoot.

* * *

After Riley and Verchota finished their food and walked outside again, Riley suggested that they go back to hang out at the dorms for a while. Verchota was hesitant.

"I have something that might change your mind," Riley began.

"What's that?"

Riley pulled out a little bag from her pocket. Verchota recognized it immediately.

"Is that weed?" Verchota asked, almost shocked that she had it. "Where the hell did you get it?" he wondered, thinking she didn't know anyone besides the guys on the team.

"Yeah," Riley said with a laugh, though not answering where she got it. "What else would it be?"

"You do pot?"

"Yeah," Riley said, as if she's done it for a while. The truth was, she'd only done it once. Last week, right after she scored the pot, Riley decided to try it before deciding whether to share. She didn't want to look like an idiot doing it for the first time.

"I haven't smoked in about a year," Verchota said.

"Well, now is the perfect time."

"I guess a joint would be okay," Verchota said. "Herb can't find out though."

"You think I would tell him? Then he would know I'm the one that gave it to you. Yeah right. I'm not saying anything," Riley said with her classic eye roll. _Verchota couldn't possibly think I'm that stupid, _shethought.

After walking into a park near the dorms, they sat on a bench to roll some joints. After each smoking one, they made their way back to the dorms while smoking another. Verchota was glad he didn't have practice the next morning. Dope usually messed him up pretty good.


	17. Chapter 16: Dirty Diana

NellieBly413672: Yeah, Emma's makeover was something, lol. Don't be too sad about Mark though. He was just upset. Thanks for the review!

LTJM: You'll see… lol. Thanks for the review and there will definitely be more Bah/Kristen and Buzz/Gayle to come.

dogdaysareover: Thanks for reviewing, glad you liked it and I hope you like this one too!

A/N: As promised, here's another chapter. Hope everyone enjoys!

**Chapter 16: Dirty Diana**

The next morning, a lot happened even though it was a Saturday and there was no practice. Bah woke up from a very poor night sleep, and knew he wouldn't be able to sleep anymore, so he didn't bother trying to go back to bed. All night he tossed and turned, worrying about Emma. Part of him said not to worry about her, because she was a grown girl that could make her own decisions, but another part of him was worried because she never pulled shit like that. Emma was strong willed and confident, she never needed a guy's attention to make her happy. All of a sudden, she was turning into someone completely different.

He decided to give her a call bright and early. After the phone rang three times, he gave up thinking that she must have stayed with that guy she left with. Fifteen minutes later, Bah was still worried and called her again. This time, she answered, sounding pissed.

"It's me. Sorry to call so early."

"Did you call fifteen minutes ago too?" she asked, sounding pissed as ever. Then Bah corrected himself. Thankfully she wasn't as pissed as the week before though.

"Yeah," he admitted.

"You woke me up."

"I'm just glad you're home."

"You don't need to check up on me. Especially not at nine am."

"I was worried." Bah wanted to ask what happened between her and the guy, but he didn't want to come right out and ask if she had sex with him. That would make things even worse. It was exactly any of his business anyway. "I was also calling to make sure you didn't pick up too many STDs last night," Bah said with a laugh clear in his voice.

Luckily, Emma laughed too. "No Bah. I didn't sleep with the loser. I just wanted to make OC jealous. And the guy knew that before going into it."

"He did?" Bah asked, thinking that guy was doing a good job of acting then.

"Yeah, he's Heather's new friend. Well, fuck buddy would be a more appropriate term, I guess. He went to her place after he dropped me off."

"Oh, okay," Bah said, though not totally understanding why Emma did it. "Well, I'm glad you're okay Emma. I have to go though. Verchota's sleeping like a baby over here and I have to get him up so I can make sure he's not dead."

"See ya," Emma said before hanging up.

"Verchota! Get your ass up!" Bah yelled. "Practice in twenty-five minutes."

When he didn't stir, Bah went over to the bed. He ripped the blanket off of Verchota and kicked the bed, trying to arouse him.

"What's going on?" a groggy Verchota asked.

"We have practice."

"No we don't."

"You're right, but I knew that would get your attention. I wanted to make sure you weren't dead. When I got back here last night, you were sleeping like a log. And you didn't move all night. You didn't even snore, and you do that every night."

Suddenly, Verchota jumped out of bed like there was a fire.

"We don't have practice," Bah reminded him. "Now that I know you're alive, feel free to go back to sleep."

"Was anyone else here last night when you got here?" Verchota asked, sounding panicked.

"No. But I didn't get here until three am."

"Shit."

"What?" Bah asked.

Verchota started tearing apart his bed. He pulled out a lacy black bra.

"I didn't know you started wearing those," Bah joked.

"Fuck me!" Verchota said angrily.

"No thanks," Bah joked again. "Care to share what's going on?"

"I made out with Riley."

"You what?" Bah asked, his eyes going wide.

"Fuck!" he swore again.

"Did anything else happen?" Bah asked, now almost amused, wondering if Verchota would explain the bra.

"I don't know."

"Blackout?" Bah wondered.

"I was high."

"You were high?" Bah asked, wondering where Verchota got the drugs.

"Riley brought some weed and we smoked it. The last thing I remember is smoking some, and then coming back here. I vaguely remember making out with her."

"Where the hell did _Riley_ get pot?" Bah wondered, almost not believing it came from Riley. He thought Verchota might have supplied it. "She doesn't know anyone here except the team."

"How the hell should I know," Verchota answered, almost sounding annoyed.

"Did she go home?"

"I don't know!" Verchota said, now sounding scared.

"Shit!" Bah said. "You're fucked!"

"Crap!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Riley woke up in a semi familiar dorm room. Rizzo and OC's room. She slept in Rizzo's room one other time after a night of drinking in the dorms because no one was sober enough to drive her home. She called Herb the previous time and he was okay with her staying at Rizzo's, but this time she couldn't remember calling. She couldn't remember much of anything.

The last thing she remembered clearly was smoking pot with Verchota. After that, she could only remember bits and pieces. Riley sort of remembered making out with Verchota and she kind of remembered going to Rizzo's room, but nothing else. She had no idea whether she even called Herb or not.

"Morning slut," OC said once he knew Riley was awake.

"OC, stop!" Rizzo said, scolding him. "Are you okay, Riley?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Riley said to Rizzo, while glaring at OC for his last comment. "Umm, why wouldn't I be?" she then asked.

"Well, you were out of it last night," Rizzo said, "and you reeked of pot."

"We found you wandering the halls in a daze, a complete mess," OC added. "It almost looked like you just had sex with someone, but I couldn't be sure."

"Oh," Riley responded, noticing the amused look on OC's face. She wasn't sure whether OC was being serious or not.

"So did you?" OC asked. He was actually just trying to get her to admit what she was doing the previous night. Other than being in a daze, OC didn't think Riley looked any different, but he figured that if he said she looked like she just had sex, she would admit to _whatever _it was she was doing with _whoever_ it was. _Not that I can't just ask the guys at practice on Monday,_ OC thought.

"OC!" Rizzo said, scolding OC for making these comments to Riley's face. It was one thing to joke around with just Rizzo, but it wasn't right to do it right in front of Riley. Then, to Riley, Rizzo said, "I called Herb for you."

"Thanks Rizzo," Riley said sincerely. She could always count on him to look out for her.

"I didn't do it for _you_," Rizzo said, now half annoyed. "Herb would have held _the team_ responsible if you weren't accounted for."

Riley didn't answer Rizzo and instead tried to think of an excuse to leave quickly. That's when she realized she wasn't wearing a bra under her shirt.

"I uh, gotta go. I think I left something in another room."

"Whose room?" OC asked, that amused smile still there, still wondering who she was with.

"None of your damn business," Riley shot back. Riley practically ran to Verchota's room, now curious to know what happened last night. She didn't care if she slept with him, but she wanted to know. Riley never experienced a blackout of memory like that, and it was scary. Anything could have happened. At least she was with a friend she knew and trusted and not just some random guy.

Bah opened his door just after Riley knocked.

"I need to talk to Verchota," was all Riley said.

"Come on in," Bah said, opening the door wide. "He needs to talk to you too."

After Riley was inside, she looked at Bah expectantly.

"Can you leave?"

"Maybe," Bah responded. Riley was clearly in a pissy mood this morning, and Bah didn't want to take anymore crap from her. If she wanted him to leave, she would have to ask nicely.

Riley raised her eyebrows in response to Bah's comment, as if to say, 'Now.'

Bah just smiled back.

"Please?" Riley asked, wondering if that was what he wanted.

"Sure thing. Be back later Verchota," Bah said pleasantly and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Riley began talking. "What happened last night?"

Verchota's response was tossing Riley her black bra.

"Did we have sex?" Riley asked calmly. Verchota noticed Riley didn't seem to be upset about that possibility. He didn't know why she didn't sound upset though. Most people, him included, would probably be a little upset if they didn't know if they had sex with someone or not.

"Honestly, I don't know," Verchota answered.

"You don't know?" Riley asked, in disbelief. "How do you not-"

"I was just as high as you," Verchota reminded her. That shut Riley up.

"I have to go," Riley said.

"Wait. Riley," Verchota said, trying to stop her.

"I have to get home, okay."

"Are you mad?" Verchota asked, slightly confused. _She doesn't seem upset, but she's sure in a hurry to get out of here, _he thought.

"I'm just mad that I don't know what happened."

"Well, there's no used condom or empty condom wrapper if that helps," Verchota offered.

"Does that mean anything?" Riley asked. "I don't think either of us was with it at all. If we had sex, we probably didn't use anything. I have to go," Riley said again.

"I'm sorry," Verchota said.

"Don't be. There's nothing to be sorry about," Riley said honestly.

"Are you sure?" Verchota asked, not convinced.

"Verchota, if I didn't want to have sex with you, I wouldn't have. Just because I was high doesn't mean I didn't want it," Riley said.

_What?_ Verchota thought, instantly knowing exactly why she was related to Herb. _What is Riley saying? Does she realize being under the influence of drugs and alcohol makes you do things you otherwise wouldn't do? And why does it seem like she wanted to have sex with me? Was that her plan all along? _Verchota was so confused.

While Verchota was thinking things through, Riley opened the dorm room door to find OC and Bah standing nearby, listening.

"Real mature guys."

"Yeah, so are you," OC shot back. "You must feel so mature and grown up sleeping around with so many guys."

"OC, I don't fucking care what you have to say about me. You're an ass. Don't act like you're better than me, because you're not. You sleep around with just as many, if not more people than I do."

"At least I'm not whoring myself around a group of friends," OC said.

"Shut the fuck up," Riley said coldly.

Riley went down the hall, not looking back, leaving OC and Bah standing in the hallway. The both knew what OC said was true. For some reason, it seemed that Riley was trying to hook up with as many guys on the team as possible.

* * *

By Monday's pregame skate, the whole team knew of Riley's escapades with the various guys on the team. First her semi hook up with Mac. Then, having sex with Silky. Then her hook up with Rammer. Last, for now, possibly having sex with Verchota. It became a big joke to the team. Everyone knew Riley was just throwing herself at the guys. No one really knew why though. People speculated quite a bit, and some theories were amusing. They all involved Riley being shipped off to Minnesota after getting into some kind of trouble at home in Chicago. The trouble was thought to be anything from getting caught drinking and doing drugs to getting knocked up and being forced to get an abortion. A few of the guys knew the truth, which was about her dad's death, but other than that, no one had any idea why she acted the way she did. The guys that did know that Riley's dad died were quiet about it though.

Jimmy knew first hand what losing a parent was like, and he could totally understand why Riley didn't talk about it. Talking about it was hard, but hearing people's sympathetic comments all the time was harder. Riley probably thought that if the guys on the team knew they would treat her differently. Jimmy knew this was also true from his personal experience.

One thing everyone on the team did know though, was that Riley was bringing them together even more. They had Herb to bring them together in fear, and Riley to bring them together in fun.

"She's like, the team slut now," OC commented in the locker room as everyone was getting suited up to play in that night's game.

"Our very own groupie," laughed Pav.

"I think there's a term for that with hockey players… can anyone say puck bunny?" Mac asked, and laughed.

"But she has no friends to brag to," Mark said. "I think puck bunnies usually brag about their conquests."

"Who'll be next?" OC asked.

"My money's on Pav," Bah teased him.

"There's no way I'm sleeping with her. After Silky and Verchota, the girl's probably got at least ten STDs."

"Hey, hey!" Silky said. "I'm clean."

"And unlike Verchota, you used protection," Cox said on Silky's behalf.

"We might not have even had sex!" Verchota said. Just as he yelled this back to Cox, the locker room door opened and in walked Coach Patrick, Riley, and Herb.

Coach Patrick broke the now silent group of guys. "Verchota, don't you think you would try to remember these things," he joked, trying to lighten the now tense atmosphere.

"Are we ready to go guys?" Herb asked, specifically looking at Verchota. Riley was also looking at Verchota, and the team was looking between Riley and Herb, wondering exactly how much they heard. It didn't appear they heard specifics, though they were all sure Riley knew exactly what they were talking about.

That night the team broke their four game losing streak with a 4-2 win against the Maine Mariners. Coming off that win, the guys played the Canadian National team twice over the next two days and won both games. They had two more games that week, on Friday and Saturday night in Colorado, both of which they won. After a very successful week, mostly on the road, the whole team was feeling good. They played well and really looked like an all-star team.

* * *

By Sunday, now nearing the end of October, the guys were so beat, they couldn't wait to spend a day lounging in the dorms. They all had a spaghetti and meatball dinner together, compliments of Rizzo. It was nice to just have some guy time, because lately there was too much drama with the girls they hung out with. First, there was Riley. They all had enough of her to last a lifetime. Besides that, there was Emma. Most of the guys didn't even know Emma that well, but they were still sort of sick of hearing about everything that was happening.

That night, Mark managed to talk to Bah about Emma for a few minutes without any other guys nearby. Mark realized he still liked Emma, but he was just disappointed she was trying to be someone she wasn't.

"She wouldn't have to fake with me though. I like her for her," Mark explained after Bah sort of told him why Emma turned up looking like a Barbie doll.

"I know that. And I'm sure she knows that. But Emma is stubborn. She does things her way no matter what. If she gets upset about something, she takes it upon herself to make things right. I mean, she's never has done anything like dye her hair before, but if she has her mind set on something…" Bah trailed off.

"Her mind set on something like OC?" Mark asked.

"What about me?" OC asked, hearing the tail end of Mark's comment.

"Nothing," Mark said, not wanting to explain.

"Who likes me now?" he said, sounding like it was a burden. Bah and Mark gave him a look that said they weren't expecting that reaction. OC explained. "First _Emma_. Come on. No offense Bah, she seems nice, but she's not my type. At all."

"She's someone else's type though," Bah said, purposely not naming names.

"Really? I had no idea you liked her Mark," OC said, somehow knowing Bah was talking about Mark. "I think you two would make a great couple."

"Thanks, Bah," Mark said sarcastically.

"I didn't name names!" Bah said in his defense.

"I think it's great Mark."

"She doesn't like me."

"I think she could," Bah said.

"So I'll be second best?" Mark asked, not sounding happy about the prospect.

"It's not like that," OC explained. "Emma liked me. I was a jerk. Clearly she doesn't like me anymore. If she wasn't just trying to make me mad, she would have left with me that night she showed up looking like a cheap prostitute."

Bah glared at OC. Calling Emma a 'cheap prostitute' wasn't helping. It took Bah a while to remind Mark of the Emma he liked and to get that blonde bimbo image out of his head.

"I guess you're right," Mark said.

"Trust me, Mark. If someone makes Emma mad, she likes to put them in their place. That's all she was doing as far as dying her hair was concerned."

"Okay, I think that's enough, or you two will be kicked out," OC cut in. "What was rule number one of tonight?"

"No bringing up any girl drama," Mark and Bah both recited.

* * *

Meanwhile, when the guys were enjoying their dinner, Riley was eating dinner at her family's apartment. They were supposedly celebrating something, though Riley didn't know what yet.

"Well, Riley," Mary began, "We bought a house."

"Bought a house?" Riley repeated, sounding less than enthused.

"Now you can come home!" Erin said, excitedly.

"I don't _want_ to come home. I like living with Herb and Aunt Patty, and the kids."

"Well, now you get to be with us!" Erin said, still excited to see her sister more often.

"How thrilling," Riley said sarcastically.

"I thought you would be happy," Erin said. "I miss you."

"She turned into a very mean person since dad died, Erin," Kyle pointed out. "She's not the same Riley, and she doesn't miss us."

"I am the same. I'm just older now. I'm not the same little kid that would play in the dirt with you, Kyle, or with you and your dolls, Erin," Riley said in a nasty tone.

"Riley! That's enough," Mary cut in. "I've had more than enough of your attitude. You might get away with treating me like dirt, but I will not allow you to treat your brother and sister that way."

"They'll get over it."

"I would like you to leave this house," Mary said bitterly after Riley's last comment.

"It's not a house. But it's my pleasure," Riley said, giving her mom attitude.

"Mommy, don't make her leave. Please let's finish dinner," Erin said, tears brewing in her eyes. Kyle was looking at her with the same sad eyes as Erin, silently begging Mary to let Riley stay.

Mary was amazed at her younger children. No matter how mean Riley was, they still wanted her around. The truth was, no matter how bitchy Riley was to Mary, Mary still wanted her around too. She missed her daughter, and every time she hoped something would change in her daughter's attitude and the old Riley would resurface. She knew the past year had been hard on Riley, but it had been hard on all of them. The difference was that everyone else was slowly recovering and Riley was getting worse. At times, Mary thought it might be a good idea to take her to a therapist or counselor, but Mary knew getting Riley to therapy would be impossible. She knew her daughter would never go for it. Riley would probably get mad and threaten to never speak to her again. Mary knew that most of what Riley threatened was just talk, but she couldn't help but wonder if Riley would ever follow through. She didn't want to find out.

Mary blinked back tears and told Riley she could stay for dinner. She sensed Riley felt slightly guilty, because she did stay, and was also fairly pleasant the rest of the dinner. Riley even stayed after dinner to play a game of Sorry with everyone. Mary Brennan hoped that this Riley would be here to stay, but deep down, she better than that.


	18. Chapter 17: This is Halloween

NellieBly413672: Glad you liked the chapter and thanks for the review! You'll see a little of Mark and Emma this chapter!

LTJM: Thanks for the review! You may never know about Riley and Verchota though… glad you like it so far and I'm keeping you wanting more.

dogdaysareover: Glad you like it, OC is an ass though. And Jimmy won't talk to her yet, but eventually he will. Hope you like this chapter too and thanks for reviewing.

A/N: One quick little note about this chapter. When I mention that Buzz is the tallest of the Coneheads, that's based on their real life heights, not the movie heights where Bah is the tallest. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 17: This is Halloween**

The next week and a half went by fast, and the guys were so busy with games, they hardly got a chance to relax. When they did have some down time, they were too tired to party. Most of the team just hung out at the dorms, while a few went out to the movies, bowling, or an arcade. Some of the lucky ones that had family nearby were able to go home for dinner on occasion. Though they were grown men, most had trouble making macaroni and cheese without burning it, so unless Rizzo was cooking they took every chance they got to enjoy a home cooked meal.

Before they knew it, it was Halloween and that meant their first two day off stretch in a row. They still had practice, but two days without a game was really nice. On Halloween night, the team had a big costume party at the dorms.

They invited a lot of people from around the area, including some of the students at the U. They also invited Emma, Kristen, Gayle, and a few of the other girlfriends. Rizzo was lucky enough to be able to bring his girlfriend Pam. Their one year anniversary was in September, and this was the first time she was able to get enough time off of work to make the trip to Minnesota.

The guys sort of invited Riley, but they didn't make the party seem like a big deal, and they didn't offer her a ride, because they really didn't want her coming. The consensus was that everyone wanted one night without something happening between Riley and a guy on the team. It wasn't that the guys couldn't control themselves around her, but once alcohol was thrown in the picture, all bets were off. There were few guys that would turn down an offer of no strings attached sex, even if it _was_ Riley offering it.

* * *

"Hey babe," Rizzo said, greeting Pam at the airport with a big hug. Pam smiled and hugged him back.

"What's this? No kiss?" she asked with a laugh.

"I might get carried away if I start," Rizzo joked before pulling his girlfriend close. They shared a passionate but socially acceptable kiss in the middle of the airport.

"I missed you," Pam told her boyfriend.

"I missed you too. So much."

Once the couple began walking hand in hand to the parking lot where Rizzo's car was, he mentioned their anniversary. "Well, I know I sent you that card and got you the flowers," he started.

"And the box of chocolate, and the love notes," Pam added. Rizzo smiled in response before continuing.

"But I also have something else for you."

"Really?" Pam asked, sounding excited.

"You'll get it later."

"I have something for you too. Which you'll get later," she added.

* * *

Pam and Rizzo arrived at the party not too long after everyone else. Since the party was in the common room on the floor, they basically passed by on their way to Rizzo's room from the airport, but they were unnoticed.

"Pammy!" Silky said in greeting.

"Silk," she said. "I can tell you've already had more than enough to drink."

"Never," he said with a smile.

"I love the necklace," he commented, noticing the gold necklace around Pam's neck.

"Rizzo gave it to me for our one year," Pam said, beaming. Rizzo smiled and moved his around her waist. They looked at each other and shared a quick kiss.

"You two make me sick," Silky said.

"You're just jealous because you're the eternal bachelor," Pam joked.

Rizzo and Pam made their way around to his friends, with Rizzo introducing his girlfriend to everyone. Rizzo also met a few people himself, as there were a lot of people at the party he had never seen before.

"So this is the girlfriend," Rammer said, walking up to the couple.

"This is Pam," Rizzo confirmed. "Pam, this is Rammer."

"You can call me Mike if you'd rather," Rammer said as he stuck out a hand for Pam to shake.

"I'm used to the nicknames by now," Pam said, shaking Rammer's hand. "Sometimes I even call my Mike 'Rizzo'," she added.

* * *

Everyone was having a good time at the party, and the guys all had pretty good costumes. They had a theme going that everyone dressed up as someone in the entertainment industry.

Mac dressed up as Elvis, OC dressed up as James Bond, Verchota dressed up as Herman Munster, and Rizzo and Pam dressed up as Gomez and Morticia Addams. Some of the guys also represented the Flintstones. Morrow and Baker were dressed as Fred and Barney, with Morrow's wife Christine and Baker's girlfriend Angela dressed as Wilma and Betty. Silky dressed up as Paul Stanley from Kiss and convinced Rammer to join him and go as Gene Simmons. Johnson and Jimmy went as Gilligan and the Skipper from Gilligan's Island.

Bah, Pav, and Buzz dressed up as the famous Saturday Night Live Coneheads. Rizzo joked the week before that it would be funny for them to dress up like that because they were dubbed the "Conehead" line on the ice.

"You guys did dress as the Coneheads!" Rizzo noticed appreciatively when he ran into them. "Who's who?"

"Well, we're just basically in general the Coneheads. We're not naming parts," Pav said.

"Well the costumes look great," Rizzo commented.

"Those hats are great!" Pam commented further.

"Yeah, aren't they? They're rubber and they just go on your head like a swim cap," Pav said.

"They're a little uncomfortable though," Bah admitted.

"Yeah, they're sort of pulling my hair," added Pav.

"Oh, Kristen's here. I'm gonna go say hi," Bah said, having seen Kristen walk in. Pav also left to go find a few people he invited. "See you guys later."

"So really, who's who?" Rizzo asked Buzz.

"Well, I'm Beldar because I'm the tallest. Bah was supposed to be Pyrmaat and Pav was supposed to be Connie, but they didn't want to dress up as girls."

"Let me guess, a big argument ensued?" Rizzo asked.

"You could say that. Pav suggested we all go as Beldar, but I said you can't have three dads. In the end, two to one, they won and we're technically all guys, but I'm telling people I'm the dad, Bah's the mom, and Pav's the daughter," Buzz said, laughing.

* * *

When Bah went over to greet Kristen, he noticed OC beating him to it.

"Do you feel the need to hit on every girl that walks in here, OC?" Bah wondered aloud as he got to the door where Kristen and OC were.

"Only the hot ones," OC said with a smile directed to Kristen.

"Nice try," Kristen said, laughing.

"Not only do you hit on them, but you do it to my girl too, right in front of me," Bah joked.

"I didn't think you would mind, seeing that you're so adamant about saying 'Kristen's not my girlfriend' whenever we slip up," OC said.

"Way to go below the belt, OC," Bah commented. "But she _is_ my girlfriend now." As he said this, he wrapped his arm around Kristen's waist.

"Oh really?" OC asked. "You actually admit that this clown is your boyfriend?" OC asked, teasing Kristen.

"You make one hot witch," Bah said with a smile, while ignoring OC and pulling his girlfriend to face him.

"Why thank you. It's too bad you didn't agree to be my mortal though. We would have made a hot couple," Kristen said with a wink.

"Your mortal?" Bah asked.

"Darren," OC answered for him. Then, because Bah looked clueless he added, "She's Samantha."

"Samantha?" Bah asked curiously. He had no idea what they were talking about.

"From Bewitched," Kristen and OC answered together, Kristen in an exasperated sigh.

"I'm impressed," Kristen said to OC. "Most guys aren't Bewitched fans."

"My sister loves that show. She watches it every chance she gets."

"I'm also impressed you could tell who I was. To most people," Kristen glanced at Bah, "I look like _just_ a witch."

"You got that hair thing going on," OC said, talking about Kristen's hair being curled and turned out at the bottom. "And your costume is just like hers in the opening credits."

"I tried," Kristen said.

"I could have been your mortal if you asked," OC said with a wink.

"Stop hitting on my girlfriend" Bah said, trying to sound mad at OC. Both OC and Kristen knew he was half kidding though. OC may have been a big player, and he may act like a jerk at times, but Bah knew he would never make a real move on someone else's girl.

Is OC being a big player again?" Emma asked while walking in after hearing the end of the conversation.

"Emma?" Kristen asked, completely surprised to see her. Well, she wasn't surprised to see her, just surprised to see her in the outfit she was in. Kristen thought the ridiculous look was a onetime thing.

"Yeah, Emma's turned over a new leaf or something," Bah said, half under his breath. "She completely changed her wardrobe."

"It _is_ Halloween, you know," Emma said sarcastically.

"And last year, you went as a zombie bride. Hardly anything sexy," Bah commented. He just stood next to Kristen, his arm around her waist, waiting for an explanation on the attire from Emma.

OC jumped in. "Are you a playboy bunny?" he asked, trying to keep his laughter in check.

Emma glared at him. "No," she said, rolling her eyes. "Do I have bunny ears?"

"No," OC answered. "But is that your real hair?" Emma hair went from being blonde a few days ago to very short black hair.

"No, it's a wig," Emma said, giving OC slight attitude. OC thought she almost sounded like she was turning into Riley. "I wouldn't cut my hair off_ just_ for Halloween."

"Well, you dyed it blonde _just_ for OC," Bah grumbled, only clear enough that Emma heard him. Now she glared at him.

"I'm Betty Boop," Emma said, explaining her very short red dress, black fishnets, and black heels.

"You're who?" OC asked.

"Betty Boop!" Verchota said, recognizing Emma's costume instantly from afar, yelling over to where the four were standing at the door. "You look hot!"

"Thanks Verchota!" Emma said back with a smile. "See you guys later," Emma said, walking away from the three people left standing at the door and over to the drink table.

"Wow," was all Bah could manage to say.

* * *

A while later, Mark was able to find Emma in the crowded room because she really stood out from the crowd. Mark had to admit that Emma looked hot tonight. Although she was wearing minimal clothes, it was different from the last time because as far as Mark knew, Emma wasn't trying to make anyone jealous. Besides that, it was Halloween. Barely dressed girls were expected.

"Nice costume," Mark said, making small talk while he got a glass of punch. The punch was delicious, but he wasn't about to question what was in it. Mark didn't think he wanted to know.

"Thanks, yours too. Are you Gilligan?"

"Yep. And Jimmy over there is the Skipper," Mark said with a nod to his friend.

"Awesome," Emma said. "I love Gilligan's Island."

"We actually wanted to go as the Professor and the Skipper, but everyone told us that one of us needs to be Gilligan."

"Yeah, you can't _not _have a Gilligan," Emma agreed.

"Can I get you another drink?" Mark asked, noticing Emma finished her punch a minute ago. Besides trying to be polite, he wanted to talk to Emma more and if he gave her a drink, he figured they would have a longer conversation.

"Um, sure," she said with a smile. "It looks weird, but it tasted pretty good," Emma said, commenting on the punch.

"Yeah, I think Silk made it. I have no idea what's in it other than something orange and some kind of alcohol."

While they were talking and having a drink, they didn't notice the next guest to arrive. Mac, who was standing with another group of guys, was the first to notice.

"Guys, Riley's here," he said to Pav, Bah, OC, and Silky, who he was currently standing with.

"How did she get here?" OC wondered.

"Maybe someone dropped her off," Pav guessed.

"Someone should go over and say hi," Mac said.

"Well, buddy," OC began, "since you had the genius thought, I think it should be you." OC hit Mac on the back to get him to greet Riley.

"What is she even dressed as?" he wondered aloud. Jimmy walked up behind the guys.

"Is she Ginger?" he wondered, looking at Riley.

"Ginger who?" Pav wondered.

"Ginger from Gilligan's Island," Jimmy answered. Riley's red hair was piled in curls on top of her head, and she had a floral print bandeau bikini top on with a solid light green wrap around skirt, presumably covering up matching bathing suit bottoms.

"Why don't you go ask her?" Mac suggested, hoping to get out of going to say hi.

"Nice try," Jimmy responded.

"But you two are like island buddies or something," Mac said, trying to get Jimmy to come back. He shook his head while walking away.

Before anyone could go over to see Riley, she spotted them. "Hey guys!"

Unenthusiastic 'hey's' and 'hi's' were heard from the guys back to Riley.

"Are you Ginger?" Bah asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah, good guess," Riley said, happy someone knew what she was.

"We didn't think you'd make it over," Pav said, not really knowing what else to say.

"I had my mom drop me off. She owed me one since I had to drag my brother and sister around trick-or-treating. Talk about a terrible start to the night. How lame is that? I mean, what am I, five?"

Verchota had just walked up behind her. "Trick-or-treating? That's not lame. I would jump at the chance to get to do that again. I went for as long as I possibly could. I took my younger siblings all through high school."

Mac agreed. "Really, free candy. How can you go wrong?"

"Well, it wasn't too bad," Riley admitted. In all honesty, Riley looked forward to taking her brother and sister every year. This year wasn't really an exception. She knew she could go to the party after, so she figured she'd go out with them first. Riley was a little reluctant to tell the guys she actually wanted to go trick-or-treating though. She thought they would think it was immature. She didn't want them to think she was being childish. Apparently, she was wrong.

OC even admitted liking trick-or-treating. "I went with my sister up until my second year of college. If she still went, I probably would too. It was a great brother-sister bonding thing."

"Didn't people think you were a little old?" Silky wondered.

"No. We went to the apartments near campus. Everyone trick-or-treating there was college age. Some people even handed out shots instead of candy."

"How did I not know about that?" Silky wondered.

"You were always too busy trying to hook up with someone on Halloween. But do you remember that girl Tracy?"

"Yeah, she was like your longest relationship ever. I still don't know why you broke up," Silky admitted.

"I met her trick-or-treating. She thought it was so great that I took my little sister, that she asked me out."

"Damn," Pav said. "Think the apartments around here are like that? Is it too late to go trick-or-treating?"

"Just a tad," Riley commented. "It's after ten."

"Damn," he said again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Emma and Mark got to talking and the topic of OC came up. It was actually because they were talking about everyone's costumes.

"Who's OC anyway?" Emma asked, not having a clue what the suit was for.

"James Bond."

"That explains the suit and toy gun he keeps pretending to shoot people with," Emma said, her and Mark now laughing because no sooner did she say this than OC pulled out the toy gun and pretended to shoot Riley with it.

"Why would he dress as Bond though? How many people will actually know what his costume is?"

"He's specifically the Goldfinger Bond. OC says that girls like that Bond the best because he's the cutest or something. OC always has to try to go for whatever's gonna please the ladies."

With Mark's last comment, things suddenly got quiet. Neither Mark nor Emma knew what to say, though they both thought they knew what the other was thinking.

"I'm over him, you know," Emma said, speaking up.

"Over who?" Mark asked, seeing if he could get away with playing dumb.

"James Bond," Emma said, with a look that caused Mark to laugh. I'm much more into Gilligan these days."

Mark picked up on this immediately. "Oh are you?" Emma nodded. "Too bad Betty Boop wasn't shipwrecked too."

"I think I could work on that. Or maybe Emma could settle for Mark," she said, speaking in the third person.

"I think she'd be happy with Mark," Mark now said. "He's no Gilligan, and definitely not Bond, but he's up there anyway."

Emma smiled. She was glad after everything that happened, Mark wasn't treating her any differently. Gilligan and Betty went on to make plans for the following weekend.

* * *

The remainder of the party was fun, but it died down around 1 am. As Rizzo was getting ready to leave, he found OC.

"Hey man, do you mind maybe not coming back to the room for a while?" he asked quietly, almost as if he didn't want anyone else to hear him.

OC was amused by Rizzo's modesty and chuckled. "No problem. How about I let you two have the room to yourselves all night. You know, the first time is like chocolate cake. If you hold out long enough, a little bite isn't going to satisfy you. You're gonna need to eat that whole cake-"

"OC, shut the Hell up," Rizzo said, smacking him.

"It's true. Just saying."

"I never even said we were gonna do anything," Rizzo said.

"You don't need to. All night you been undressing Pam with your eyes," OC commented.

"It doesn't mean she wants it tonight."

"But you think she does, or you wouldn't have asked me to stay away." At this point, Pam was at the door, waiting for Rizzo.

"Are you coming, baby?" she called over.

"He'll be _coming_ in a minute," OC said, half laughing at his joke, though only Rizzo noticed the emphasis on coming. Rizzo glared at his friend.

OC went back to talking to Rizzo. "I know you think tonight's the night."

"Well, it might be," Rizzo said. "Earlier she said she has something for me, but had to give it to me later. Then, when we were alone talking before, she said she would give it me when we were _really_ alone. She had this look in her eyes that said she wasn't giving me something so concrete."

"Have fun, man," OC said, hitting him on the back. "And use protection!"

Before walking away, Rizzo quickly looked around as if to see if anyone else heard OC's last comment. It wasn't that he was shy, but he thought his relationship should be kept between himself and Pam, and not himself, Pam, and the team.


	19. Chapter 18: Andromeda

NellieBly413672: Glad you liked the chapter and costume ideas. Some of them were hard to come up with, but it was really fun writing them! Thanks for the review!

LTJM: Glad you enjoyed the update! Thanks for reviewing!

dogdaysareover: Glad you liked Mark and Emma, there will be more of them to come. Thanks for the review!

A/N: Enjoy the chapter and please review! I have a huge exam this coming Friday, and reading reviews will make me really happy in the midst of crazy studying!

**Chapter 18: Andromeda**

The week after Halloween was a very busy one as far as games and practices went. The team had three games and three full length practices that week – and that was only Monday through Friday. On Saturday, the guys had a game as well. Everyone on the team, especially the Minnesota alumni, was really excited for the Friday and Saturday games, because they were playing UMD and the U on back to back nights.

Another good thing about that week for the guys was that Riley wasn't around. Apparently she went to Chicago to visit her friends, though no one really cared why she went, the only important thing was that she was gone. After a morning skate Friday morning, Herb called Jimmy into his office.

"Ooooh, what'd you do?" Verchota said, teasing him.

Jimmy shrugged. "Maybe he just wants to tell me I suck again," he said nonchalantly.

"Maybe he should get his eyes checked. You had a better practice than most of us," OC commented.

"Well, after the game Monday he told me I played like it was next year."

"We won Monday," Pav pointed out.

"It was no thanks to me," Jimmy replied, not putting himself down, but just basing it off what Herb told him.

"Ouch, next year?" Bah asked, knowing Jimmy was referring to the usual comments Herb made about the guys playing worse every day, and then telling them that they were now playing like next month. "The worst I've gotten so far is next month."

"I better get up there. He gets mad when we keep him waiting," Jimmy said, hurrying out of the locker room.

Jimmy wasn't nervous going up to Herb's office. He never really was. Sure, Herb could be scary, but Jimmy wasn't scared of him like some of the other guys. Jimmy hated him at times, because he was hard to read, cryptic, and downright mean on occasion, but it really didn't scare him. Jimmy's thought was, what's the worst he can do?

"You wanted to see me Coach?" Jimmy asked, tapping on Herb's open door.

"Sit down for a minute Jim," Herb said, looking up from the paper he was looking at. "How are things going?"

"Pretty good, Coach," Jimmy said, unsure of why Herb wanted him here. Clearly he wasn't going to get right to the point. It was just like him to beat around the bush.

"The team's fitting together? You guys are getting along?"

"Uh, yeah. I think so." Jimmy was still unsure why Herb was asking him about this. Wouldn't he talk to Coach Patrick about that? Or Riley? Surely she could see how everyone was getting along.

"How about Riley?" Herb asked.

_Bingo,_ Jimmy thought, now knowing why Herb really wanted to talk to him.

"Is she doing okay?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Jimmy said, half lying. He wasn't about to tell Herb he thought his niece was a slut and that she was sleeping with multiple guys on the team. _Well, maybe sleeping with them,_ he thought, not actually knowing the whole story. He tried to stay out of it as much as possible.

"Her mom is a little concerned."

"Oh?" Jimmy asked, wondering what her mom knew.

"Riley's been acting up whenever she's with her mom. I've never noticed anything, but apparently at home she's not so nice."

_Surprise, surprise_, Jimmy sarcastically thought.

"And I've heard she's been drinking and only God knows what else."

"Um," Jimmy began. He couldn't outright lie. Herb would _know_. "It's not excessive," he said, going with the half truth.

"She shouldn't be drinking at all."

"I know. And the guys try to advise against it," Jimmy said, lying again, "but I think she's just trying to fit in. We all always make sure she's safe. We wouldn't let anything happen to her," Jimmy said, now telling the truth. No one would let anything bad happen to her, not because they cared about her, but because they cared about their spots on the team.

"Her mom seems to think she should see a therapist or something," Herb offered.

Jimmy shrugged. Honestly, he thought Riley might need a therapist. He knew different people had various ways of coping, but Riley was getting into some pretty risky behavior. Jimmy didn't sleep around or drown his sorrows in drugs and alcohol after his mom died. There was no way Jimmy was admitting all of this to Herb though.

"Okay, thanks Jimmy, you can go now. That's all I wanted."

Jimmy left the office confused, thinking that he hadn't really helped with anything.

* * *

While the team was enjoying their week without Riley, Riley was also enjoying her week in Chicago. Through Thursday she was with her dad's sister and her husband in Jefferson Park, which was on the outskirts of the city. Although it was fun going into the city everyday to shop and see things Riley missed over the past few months, the teen was especially excited for Thursday afternoon. After the area schools got out Thursday, Riley headed to Jenna's house in Skokie. Jenna lived a block away from Riley's old house, so going to visit her best friend was like going home.

On Friday, Riley went to her old high school with Jenna. She was really excited to see everyone that she hadn't seen, and everyone was excited to see how Riley was doing and what Minnesota was like.

"It's okay," Riley explained to a group of girls at lunch. "The only good part is getting to help with my uncle's hockey team. Being around twenty plus college aged guys all day is not something I can complain about."

"Do you get to hang out with them outside of practice?" one of the girls asked.

"Yeah," Riley said, smiling. "We usually go to a bar in the area or have parties in the dorms. It's like being in college a year early minus the school work that would normally be involved."

"That's awesome!"

"You're so lucky," another girl said.

No one noticed, but Jenna rolled her eyes. This was the fifth time Jenna had to listen to Riley brag about her new life. It was annoying.

"So…are any of the guys..?" someone asked, not finishing their question but raising their eyebrows in suggestion.

"She means are any of the guys potential boyfriend material?" another girl chimed in.

"Umm," Riley began. "Well, several are good kissers."

"You went out with some of them?" someone asked, half shocked.

"Well, not exactly. College guys don't like to be tied down. They're more into hooking up, and personally, that's fine with me."

"How many have you hooked up with?" several pairs of eyes were waiting excitedly and expectantly for an answer. Jenna was also waiting for the answer, but she was more shocked. She didn't hear about _this_ part of it.

"I made out with like, four," Riley said, stretching the truth, "and things went a little father than that with a couple."

"Did you have sex with them?" someone asked for the group.

"Maybe," Riley said, but from the look she was giving the girls, they knew she had.

"Can you take me to Minnesota with you?" one of the girls joked.

After lunch, Riley asked Jenna why she was so quiet the whole time.

"I didn't have anything to say."

"I can tell when you're mad, Jenna. We're best friends."

"We _were_ best friends, Riley. I'm not so sure of that anymore. You've changed since…" Jenna didn't finish the statement, but they both knew what she was referring to.

"I think you're just jealous," Riley said.

"I'm not jealous of you. I'm loving my senior year, being with my friends and boyfriend. I have fun without drinking and forgetting what happened to me the night before. You used to be that way too, Riley."

"You have a boyfriend?" Riley asked, not knowing Jenna was seeing anyone.

"I never told you because you've been going on and on non-stop since you got here about the twenty guys you have. And, I guess the several you've hooked up with."

"They're college aged, what do you expect?"

"My boyfriend is in college, and he's nothing like those guys. He respects me and wants to wait until I'm ready."

"Your boyfriend's in college?"

"Yeah, we were going to go to a party tonight and you were going to meet him, but now I'm not so sure that's a good idea. I don't want you trying to get his friends into bed."

Jenna's words stung Riley. She was nothing like the girl Jenna was making her out to be. She decided to be nasty back.

"How do you know your boyfriend isn't banging someone that lives down the hall? That's what college guys do. Everything's fair game for them. They're not going to wait for someone like you." The bell for class to start rang in the background.

"Someone like me?" Jenna asked, eyebrows raised. "Not all guys are like the ones you know. But, I guess you're sort of right. A lot of guys won't wait for girls - because they're like you. Apparently, you spread your legs for just about anyone! The difference is guys would wait for a girl like me, because they know it means something."

Jenna stomped off, leaving Riley in the hallway alone. Jenna's last sentence hung around in Riley's head. Riley wasn't even exactly sure what Jenna meant by that. _It means more to the guys if it means something to the girl?_ Riley wondered. _I'm not so sure about that._

Riley decided not to go to anymore of Jenna's classes with her that afternoon. Instead she went outside and hung out near the track. That was always the hangout spot for kids during their free periods or when they were skipping classes.

After school ended, Riley noticed Jenna walking over to where she was sitting.

"Hey," she said. After a minute of hesitation, Jenna added, "I'm sorry about before."

"I forgive you," Riley told her friend with a smile. Jenna figured Riley would apologize too, but nothing else came out of her mouth.

The only reason why Jenna even apologized was because she called her mom right after class and asked for advice. She didn't really want to waste the change on a phone call, but Riley was staying with them until the next afternoon, so she had to do something.

Jenna figured her mother would be able to offer some advice, because she lost her dad when she was a teenager too. Her mom explained everyone has different methods of coping, and told Jenna that Riley was probably just taking everything really hard and that Jenna should cut her some slack.

_Riley's making it really difficult though,_ Jenna thought.

* * *

Friday night after the game and the team's win against UMD, Mark had a date with Emma. It was already nine, but they were stopping out for a bite to eat. Mark didn't like eating a big meal right before playing, so he hadn't eaten since three in the afternoon.

"What do you feel like eating?" Mark asked Emma after meeting her in the hallway.

"I'm up for anything. There's a good burger place pretty close."

"Let's go there then."

Emma and Mark walked over to the burger place and were able to pick a table because besides a family, the place was empty. They chose a booth by the window.

A minute after they sat down and got their menus, Mark said, "I know what I want."

"Have you been here before?" Emma asked, wondering how he decided on a meal so quickly. She's seen the menu several times before and didn't know what she wanted.

"No, but I'm really hungry," Mark said with a smile.

"Okay, I can be ready too then," Emma said.

"Take your time, I didn't mean to rush you."

"No, no, I know what I want," Emma assured him just as the waiter came over.

Emma ordered first, deciding on having the bacon cheeseburger, no onions. Mark ordered a chipotle cheeseburger and a basket of fries and him and Emma to share.

After the waiter left, Mark asked Emma, "No onions? Think you'll get lucky and get a kiss tonight or something." Emma knew he was joking, but responded half seriously.

"A girl can hope can't she?" Emma said with a wink.

"Well, I guess we're on the same wavelength, because I chose the fries over the onion rings for a reason as well," he said, a grin on his face.

Emma and Mark enjoyed some light and fun conversation while they waited for their food. During their meal, they hardly talked mostly because they both were so hungry, they weren't taking any breaks between bites.

Finally, Mark took a break. "I'm glad to see you were as hungry as I was."

When Emma swallowed the bite in her mouth, she said, "It tastes so good. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I took a bite. How's the chipotle?"

"Good. It has a little zing to it. Want to try it?" he asked.

"Sure," was Emma's reply. Mark held out the burger for Emma, and instead of taking it, she held Mark's hands and brought the burger to her mouth for a bite. "Mmm, this is good," she said, savoring the favor. Then, "Want to try mine?"

Mark tried a bite of Emma's burger, holding her hands the way she held his. "Delicious."

As they were finishing up, Mark noticed Emma looking out the window.

"Star gazing?" he asked. Emma looked at him and smiled.

"I love looking for constellations," she said.

"Do you know a lot?" Mark wondered.

Emma nodded. "My dad's a science teacher, and he always especially loved space. When I was little we camped out in my backyard all summer to watch the stars. We actually got to see the Apollo 11 launch in '69. We made a family vacation out of it."

"That's awesome!" Mark said. "I don't know a thing about stars."

"I bet you know more than you think," Emma said. She then slid closer to the window and pointed to a star. "See that bright star right there? I bet you know that that is."

"The North Star?" Mark asked.

"Yep," Emma said with a smile. "See, you know things."

"Why don't you teach me some more? We could go to that park that's near your apartment." Mark was hoping she'd agreed, because he didn't want their date to end yet.

"Sure," Emma said.

They took their time walking to the park, stargazing and chatting on the way. When they got there, they found a bench that would give them a great view.

After pointing out several constellations and explaining their meanings, Emma asked if Mark had a favorite.

"I like Orion. It's easy to find and he seems tough," Mark said with a smile. "What's your favorite?"

"I like Andromeda."

"She's the princess that was chained to a rock, right?" Mark asked.

Emma smiled at Mark for remembering. "Yep that's the one. And it's actually another galaxy too. Astronomers know it's at least a million light years away, but they're not totally sure."

"Wow, it's amazing we can ever see it," Mark said looking up in awe.

"It's amazing to see any of this," Emma added. After a couple minutes of looking at the sky in wonder, the couple looked at each other.

They were now pretty much finished looking at constellations, just focusing on each other. Mark and Emma leaned closer and shared a kiss. After pulling away for a second, they leaned in again for a deeper kiss. After a minute of kissing they pulled away again, out of breath. Mark lightly pecked Emma a few times on her jaw leading back to her ear. Then he whispered, "That was nice," in her ear. "Cherry lip gloss is my new favorite," he added with a smile. Emma smiled back. She had a really nice time with Mark and found herself hardly being able to wait to see him again.

* * *

The next night, the team played against the U. It was sort of home ice for both of them, but the Olympic team was true home team that night. They played a great game and won again, leaving everyone excited, ready to celebrate, and ready to have the next day off.

"Where are we going tonight boys?" Verchota asked, trying to reach a general consensus in the locker room.

"I'm starving. More so tonight than usual. I'll go anyplace I can get something to eat," OC said. A bunch of people agreed to that instantly, and they decided on stopping at a local pizza place before heading out to the bar. They expected a big crowd out tonight because the college students that attended the hockey game would be no doubt going out.

They were definitely right about the big crowd at the bar that night. The place was packed and many people were even standing outside because there was nowhere to move inside.

"How am I going to attempt to use the smooth as Silk charm when it's this packed?" Silk wondered out loud.

"You managed back at BU," OC said.

"But I had an ongoing reputation there. Everyone knew me. Here, no one knows me. I'm a nobody."

"That's no attitude to have," Bah joked. Kristen, who was there with Bah chimed in.

"You can make a pass at almost anyone here. You have that Boston accent that makes girls melt." Bah gave Kristen a questioning look, and Kristen reinforced that she only had eyes for him with a light kiss.

"It didn't melt anyone in Boston," Silk said.

"That's because _everyone_ in Boston has a Boston accent," Kristen said with a laugh.

"You think the girl's will like it that much, huh?"

"Since when is Silky unconfident?" Bah asked him.

"He's getting stage fright or something. It happens to him in big crowds," OC joked. Silk hit him before joking back.

"At least my performance a_lone _is just fine."

"_Alone?_" Kristen asked, laughing. Then, "Sorry, I couldn't resist."

"Very funny, Kristen," Silk said, dryly. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

Meanwhile, Buzz managed to get a table for six and him, Gayle, Rizzo, Pam, and Rammer sat down. It was Pam's last night in Minnesota, because she had to get back to work.

"I'm gonna miss it here," Pam said to no one in particular.

"But you love Boston," Rizzo said with his arm around her.

"I'm going to miss being here because I'll miss you," Pam said to clarify.

"It's only another three-ish months," Rammer offered.

"Not even because I'll get to see you at Christmas, and when we play Harvard," Rizzo reminded his girlfriend.

"That's not too far away," Pam said.

The table then got into a conversation about mortgages, rent, and the qualities of a nice house, and Rammer knew he should get up and leave. This was like an old married couple's table.

"Rammer, are you looking for someone?" Gayle asked.

"Uh, not really."

"Because you keep looking around the bar like you're trying to find someone."

Rammer shrugged, and Buzz offered a reason as to what he was doing.

"It looks like he's trying to find better people to hang with."

"Well, sort of. I feel like a third wheel here." Then he looked at the four people sitting with him. "Fifth wheel," he corrected himself.

"Is it the one or two car garage talk, or the tactics to get a reasonable mortgage payment?" Gayle wondered, sort of laughing.

"You guys both sound like old married couples, and Rizzo and Pam aren't even married."

"We do need to decide on what type of house we want though," Pam pointed out. She and Rizzo were beginning the house hunting process, hoping if they began now, they would find something soon after the Olympics. They were planning on moving in together. "Sorry if we're making you feel uncomfortable."

"Don't apologize. I think I should just find another guy to sit with us." As Rammer finished saying this, Pav and Jimmy walked over, asking if they could both squeeze in at the table. Jimmy grabbed an unused chair from another table and they made the most of what room they had.

"We're talking about mortgages." Rammer said, half laughing.

"Really? I need to figure all of that stuff out," Jimmy said. "I don't need a mortgage now obviously, but after the Olympics I'll need one unless I'm in an apartment."

"Not you too," Rammer groaned.

Minutes later, almost all of the team was crowded around Buzz's table. Not everyone was sitting, because there weren't enough spare chairs, let alone enough room, but everyone was standing around anyway. The conversation ended up changing to sports, as if often did with that much testosterone in the room.

The NHL season was underway, so that provided more than enough for the guys to talk about. The three girls sitting at the table now began their own little conversation. Gayle, Pam, and Kristen all liked hockey, but they could only take so much. They heard more than enough from the men in their life, and liked to get away from it when they could.

"I bought a new pair of platform heels on sale at S&L yesterday," Gayle said.

"I love S&L," Kristen said at the mention of her favorite department store, Salkin and Linoff.

"Me too, but unfortunately it's way out of my budget," Gayle said.

"Don't tell me you bought more clothes from that store," Buzz said, having overheard the girl's conversation.

"I didn't tell _you_," Gayle said, laughing. "I was telling the girls but you're too nosy to mind your own business."

"That store is going to make us go broke."

"Hey!" Gayle said, pretending to be offended. "In case you've forgotten, I'm the bread winner right now."

"Yeah, yeah," Buzz said, leaning over to give his wife a kiss on the cheek. "You never let me forget it either."

"What do the shoes look like?" Pam wondered.

"They're three inch black, patent leather platform heels, and they have red trim."

"You bought _another _pair of black shoes?" Buzz asked, still listening.

"These have red trim. My other ones are plain black."

"You are such a girl," Buzz said, shaking his head.

"And that's why you married me," Gayle said, smiling as she gave him a quick kiss this time.

Kristen reached for her glass on the table and Pam noticed her bright pink nails. "Kristen, I love your nails!" Pam commented.

Gayle then looked at it too and agreed. "That is an awesome color!"

"It matches your shirt perfectly," Pam added. It was a bright pink color.

"That's why I wore this one instead of the red shirt," Kristen explained. The two girls nodded in understanding.

"I do not understand women," OC said, having listened to that part of the conversation because the girl's outburst on the nail polish was a little loud.

"No wonder you're single," Pav said.

"I don't think that's it. I'm sure Buzz doesn't get women either, and he's married."

"You're absolutely correct. I don't understand them for the life of me." Everyone laughed, knowing how true it was.

"Why do girls care about their clothes and nails so much?" OC asked. "It's not like guys notice or care."

"_We _care," Gayle answered for all three of them. "It makes us feel pretty to have our nails done, our hair done, and have great accessories."

"Great accessories makes you sound exactly like Barbie," Verchota joked.

"You know what I don't get?" Buzz said. "Girls compliment each other all of the fricken time. Every time Gayle gets together with her friends, _every single time,_ they all have something nice to say about what someone else is wearing. It's ridiculous."

"It's because girls are too nice," Mac said.

"No, it's because we notice things more than guys do," Pam said.

"Do you even mean it?" Bah asked.

All three girls nodded. "I wouldn't say I liked something if I didn't," Kristen said. "What would the point to that be?"

"Maybe you guys should try complimenting each other sometime," Gayle suggested. "Like, if you make a really nice play on the ice, try saying something."

"We do that," Buzz said.

"Well, then do it off the ice. You'd be surprised how much a compliment can light up someone's day."

"Gayle, you sound like my mom," Mac teased her.

"She's trying to make us sound gay," OC said.

"Fine, don't believe me," Gayle said. "But I think you should give it a try."

"Women really are from Venus," Pav said.

"We'll give it a try if we deem it absolutely necessary. Someday," said Buzz laughing, thinking that would never be the case.


	20. Chapter 19: Think for Yourself

Peachy65: Glad you liked it and thanks for the review! You'll definitely get to see more of Mark and Emma in upcoming chapters! I heard about that happening in the locker room too, which is why I added that part in. Also, there are a few very important chapters coming up, and they'll play into how everything unfolds! Thanks again for the review.

NellieBly413672: Thanks for the review, glad you enjoyed the chapter! I read that about the locker room thing too, which is why I put it in there. The guys might just use Gayle's advice in a future chapter, lol. Jimmy and Herb's conversation was awkward – I love awkwardness, haha. And Riley has a lot that she needs to work on. In the next few chapters a lot will develop with her character!

LTJM: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it, and I'm glad you enjoyed the girls conversation. That conversation is actually based off a conversation I had with a few people in school. One of my guy friends always makes fun of us for complimenting each other so much, lol. Thanks again for reviewing!

A/N: Okay, this chapter is a little different from my other ones so far. I wanted to write a little from different guys POVs so you could see more on their ideas and what they were thinking. Emma's POV is in this too. I was thinking about putting it in Riley's POV in a chapter coming up, so let me know what you think.

**Chapter 19: Think for Yourself**

Rizzo's POV

November was flying by for us with all the games and practices we had, and before we knew it, it was Thanksgiving week. The most exciting part for everyone was the few days off. Monday through Wednesday we practiced as usual, but Thursday through Saturday Herb was giving us a break. We could hardly wait for the end of the week, because mostly because we knew the first three days would entail strenuous practices.

"I got the turkey," I mentioned Monday morning in the locker room to whoever wanted to listen. Most of the team, with the exception of a handful of guys who had family close by, were having Thanksgiving dinner together.

"Is it big enough?" OC asked. He tried to tell me there was no way I would be able to get a big enough turkey the weekend before Thanksgiving.

"Twenty two pounds," I answered, somewhat smugly.

"Twenty-two pounds of what?" Riley asked as she walked in, attempting to join our conversation. OC gave her a look that said 'we weren't talking to you,' but I answered anyway. I didn't like Riley, but I tried to be nice.

"Our Thanksgiving turkey."

"Oh, cool. You guys are having a Thanksgiving party together?"

"Yeah," I answered, probably with noticeable hesitation. I didn't want her inviting herself like she did every other time we were doing something as a team. I knew none of the guys wanted her joining us either.

"Can I come? I'll make a pie," she offered without waiting for an answer.

I waited to respond, partly hoping the OC would take this one. He did.

"No, you're not invited."

"I wasn't asking you, loser," she told him.

_Well, that went well,_ I thought. _Now I guess I have to answer._

"Well, I think what OC meant to say is that we were sort of having a guy's night," I tried, hoping that wasn't as harsh. With her attitude, Riley makes being nice difficult.

"Yep, just us guys," Verchota added for effect, having heard the conversation.

"I could be an honorary guy for the night," Riley suggested. "I would really rather spend Thanksgiving with all of you."

I didn't understand why Riley didn't want to be with her family, but it was pretty clear that she didn't. Jimmy told me something about her dad dying, but that didn't really explain anything to me. Jimmy was closer to his family since his mom died.

"Um, we'll see," I said, trying to think of a way to get out of this one. I gave OC a look, wondering if he had any ideas. From the look on his face, I could tell he didn't. He just looked pissed.

* * *

OC's POV

_Why is it that every time I see her, I'm instantly in a bad mood?_ I thought after Riley left the locker room.

"If she comes, I'm not," I told Rizzo seriously.

"Neither am I," Bah said.

"You're not going anyway," Verchota said. "But I won't go either," he added.

"Why aren't you going home again?" Mac asked Verchota. "You live close enough."

"Rizzo's cooking is better than my mom's," he answered with a shrug. "But I'll go home if Riley's coming."

"She's not coming!" Rizzo practically yelled. Then in a quieter voice, he added, "We'll find a way to keep her from joining us."

"You better," I said. I didn't even know what it was anymore, but Riley was just a pain in the ass. What was worse was that it seemed she only had an attitude with me. Maybe it was because I didn't pretend to be nice like everyone else. I tried to be nice at one point, but I realized it didn't work unless she was drunk, so I stopped. Now I treated her the same way she treated me.

"Why do you hate her so much, OC?" Pav asked.

"I don't hate her anymore than anyone else. I'm just not afraid to show it. Maybe it's because I'm not a nice guy. Maybe it's because I don't put up with crap from people."

"OC, I deal with Riley just fine and I'm not a nice guy," Silky pointed out.

"And you wanted to get in her pants, did, and now feel as though you owe it to her to be nice," I said, knowing that was the only reason why Silky was remotely nice.

"You all might want to be a little quieter. Herb could walk in any second," Jimmy said, basically telling us to shut up.

I noticed that Jimmy hardly ever said anything about Riley, good or bad. He always tried to direct conversations away from her as well. In a way, it seemed like they were on the same level about something, I just wasn't sure what they could have in common that made him understand her so well without really talking to her.

* * *

Jimmy's POV

Today was difficult to focus on the ice at practice. I think it was because Thanksgiving was coming up. This was the first Thanksgiving I wouldn't be home to celebrate with my family, and it was hard. I knew my dad missed having me home in general, and not being able to spend the holiday with him made it worse.

He offered to buy me a plane ticket home for the couple days, but they were expensive being during the holiday weekend, and I knew he needed the money for my brothers and sisters at home. I was able to go home for a couple days a few weeks ago, so we celebrated Thanksgiving then, but it wasn't the same.

Halfway through practice, I noticed Riley in the stands, looking bored. She usually looked bored sitting there, but today was especially bad. I didn't get why she even bothered sitting there, because Herb never needed her for anything during practice.

It was too bad she didn't get along with her family like I did with mine though. Losing my mom made me so much closer to everyone else, especially my dad. It seemed that losing her dad made her even more distant from her mom. After hearing that she wanted to spend Thanksgiving with the team, I knew I had to talk to her. Riley didn't know how lucky she was that she could spend the holiday with her family, and I wanted to let her know.

After practice it was pretty easy to find her. She was waiting in the hallway for everyone to get dressed before she came into the locker room like she always did.

"Riley, can I talk to you?" I asked, knowing that I wouldn't actually take 'no' for an answer.

"What's up?"

"I heard you wanted to spend Thanksgiving with the team."

"Yeah," she said, happily.

"What about your family?"

"Eh, they don't need me there," she said easily.

"Are you sure?" I asked, wondering how I should tell her to spend time with her family.

"Yeah, they won't miss me at all."

"My family's going to miss me this year," I offered.

"So? I guess your family is closer than mine," Riley said with a shrug. I sensed bitterness in her tone, but she hid it well.

"Look Riley, I know it's hard being the first Thanksgiving without your dad here. I've been through it," I said, as if she needed a reminder. "But my family is what got me through."

"My family is different, Jimmy. We're not close. I was close with my dad, and he's gone, so I don't have family to talk to." She said this not sounding sad, but sounding mad that I was even bringing her family up.

"Riley, I'm worried about you," I said. "I think you're family probably is too," I added, knowing it was true after my talk with Herb a couple weeks ago. "Nothing you do is going to bring your dad back."

"You think I don't know that?" Riley yelled. "I'm trying to make myself feel better. I'm doing it the only way I know how."

_So the only way she knows how is whoring herself around her pretend friends?_ I wondered. Instead, I said, "Riley, please promise me you'll have dinner with your family on Thanksgiving. I promise it will make them happy. Think about your brother and sister," I added, hoping I remembered correctly that she had a brother and sister. "Even if you don't give a shit whether your mom is happy, please make your little brother and sister happy."

By the look on Riley's face, one of understanding, I knew I was partially getting through to her. At least about not joining the team for Thanksgiving. OC would owe me one for that.

* * *

Bah's POV

"Man, I don't think I want to go to Kristen's for Thanksgiving anymore," I told my roommate late Monday night while we were watching TV.

"Cold feet?" Verchota asked with a laugh.

"You could say that," I answered. "It's just that I really like her, and if her parents don't like me, all bets are off."

"I'm sure they'll like you, Bah. What's not to like?"

"I don't know. She said they're a little old fashioned," I said. "Earlier tonight I asked her about them when we grabbed a bite to eat and she admitted that they were old fashioned by 'today's standards'. Whatever that means," I added. "After that, I wished I hadn't asked."

"Old fashioned?" Verchota asked. "Like no sex before marriage old fashioned?"

"I guess, I don't know," I admitted, shrugging. "But it's too late for that," I added with a smile.

"But it's not like you're going to tell them _that_," Verchota said.

"No, but-"

"You'll be fine, Bah," Verchota said, almost seeming to write my concerns off. Maybe he was right about me being a little too worried, but then again, this was Verchota, girl advice wasn't his specialty.

"Have you even been brought home by a girl?" I asked him.

"No," Verchota said, after thinking a minute.

"You had to think about it?"

"Well, I met a girl's parents by accident once," Verchota said, and then hesitated, like he wasn't sure if he should tell me anymore.

"Did they scare you away or something?" I asked.

"Yeah. I dumped her because her parents basically said hockey players are stupid."

"To your face?" I asked, knowing that couldn't possibly be the case.

"Well, they didn't know we were dating. They didn't even know we knew each other, and they didn't know I was a hockey player." I gave him a curious look, and he followed with, "It's a looong story. Point being, they basically scared me away."

"So I have a reason to be scared then?" I asked.

"You don't. I did. I'm me, you're you."

I laughed. "That's helpful. You should write a book."

"I know," Verchota joked back, also laughing now.

* * *

Mark's POV

After practice on Tuesday, I was in a great mood, because I had a date with Emma. We were meeting at Emma's apartment before heading to the store to pick up some things to make homemade pizza's for dinner. After dinner our plan was to relax and watch a movie or two together, or something. I was hopeful on the something, though I knew nothing more than making out would happen tonight. On my way outside my good mood was interrupted.

"You look nice today Mark," Riley said, probably noticing me wearing a polo shirt with jeans instead of the normal t-shirt. Most of the time, us guys threw on anything after practice and got dressed in nicer clothes when and if we were going out. "Going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I have a date with Emma," I replied.

"I thought you and Emma might be shacking up," was Riley's comment. She sounded happy she was correct in her assumption.

_Whoa, I wasn't ready for that one,_ I thought, slightly taken aback. "Um, we're not shacking up," I finally managed to answer.

"Shacking up, sleeping together, banging – same thing," Riley said, shrugging.

"It's really not," I said. "And we're not sleeping together. We're dating."

"Same thing," Riley said, sounding almost annoyed.

I wanted to say 'It's all the same for you because you'll sleep with anyone,' but I managed to hold my tongue. Instead, I just said, "I gotta get going."

"Wait, Mark – can I ask a serious question?" Riley asked me. She didn't wait for my response. "What's so special about Emma? I mean, isn't she annoying? She's sort of stubborn. And she's a bit of a snob."

"Excuse me?" I asked, hardly being able to believe Riley was talking about Emma. Sure, Emma was a little stubborn, but that's part of the reason I like her anyway. And she wasn't snobby.

"I'm just wondering," Riley said. "I mean, she's not all that nice."

_**She's**_ _not all that nice?_ I thought. _**She's**__ annoying?_ I felt like telling Riley to take a look in the mirror.

"I have to go," I said instead, trying to keep my comments to myself.

When I got the Emma's I tried not to show that I was pissed off. Thinking about what Riley said on the way over made me mad. Sometimes I thought Riley just did things to make people mad.

"Hey you," Emma said, greeting me with a kiss after opening her apartment door.

"Hey," I replied. "I like that greeting."

"I bet you do. Ready to go to the store?"

We had fun picking out the ingredients, although it was more Emma picking them out. I didn't really have a preference, and for the most part, she did, so I let her make the decisions. On the way back to Emma's though we had a little argument in the car – one which I completely blame on Riley.

"Isn't it tough dealing with Riley all day?" Emma asked, innocently enough, though after my conversation with Riley an hour ago, hearing her name brought me back to that conversation.

"She's okay," I lied.

"How can you stand her? I've heard things from Bah, and it sounds bad. He says she's trying to fit in by drinking and sleeping with guys on your team, but that it's just plain annoying. She's always trying to join in on your plans and-"

"I don't want to talk about her," I said, simply enough, hoping Emma would stop. But, Emma was stubborn. _One of the things I like about her,_ I thought half bitterly now, remembering my thoughts while talking to Riley earlier.

"Well, I need another opinion. I've heard what Bah thinks, but I want to know what you think."

"Why do girls have to talk about each other?" I asked instead of answering. "Can't they just leave each other alone? Instead, they're catty, and annoying, and-"

"So you think I'm annoying now?" Emma said, raising her voice a little, and the inclination making it sound like she was close to getting angry.

"No, but I'm just not into gossiping like girls are," I said, hoping that would save me.

"I don't like gossip either, but I just wanted to know about Riley."

"That's gossip," I pointed out.

"Fine. It's obvious you're friends with her, so I'll stop," Emma said, folding her arms across her chest, making me even madder now. If she had any idea what Riley said about her, she would know we're_ not_ friends.

"I'm not friends with her, I just don't want to talk about her. I want to talk about you. About us," I said, giving Emma a smile. "Not about Riley. I see enough of her every day at the rink. I need a break when practice is over," I said, hoping this would diffuse the situation.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Emma said, and put a hand on my leg. "I understand how a break would be nice. We'll talk about us."

For the rest of the evening we had a really fun time, and there was no more talk of Riley. The little argument we had probably would have never ensued in the first place though if Riley didn't bother me as to why I like Emma before.

* * *

Emma's POV

I didn't mean to push Mark about Riley and make him upset, but I was just curious. Bah seems to like venting and telling me all the things the guys hate about her. No one understood why Herb was being so nice to his niece, letting her spend time with the team, especially when she wasn't very nice herself.

At least it seems like Mark's over it now. When we got back to my apartment, we began making the pizzas. Mark wasn't as neat as I would have imagined him to be, which was fine because it made me realize he was even more fun and less serious than I originally imagined. Every time we're together I realize there's something else about him that makes me like him. He's easy to talk to, fun to be around, he listens to me, he respects me, and he's motivated and knows exactly what he wants in life. Now I also know that he's clearly not perfect – he makes a mess with food.

Once we were ready for the sauce, Mark literally threw it on the pizza with the spoon, and it was splattering everywhere.

"Mark – you're making a mess!" I said, though I was laughing and not upset at all.

"Sorry, I'm not very good at this kind of thing," he said, laughing back. "I was never the neat one." He threw more sauce on the pizza, some now splattering on my black shirt. I threw a piece of pepperoni at him to teach him a lesson.

"What was that for?" he asked with a smile.

"You threw sauce at me," I said, pointing to my shirt.

"I'm sorry!" he said, sounding really apologetic.

"Don't worry about it. I wore black for a reason."

"I won't splatter anymore sauce," he said, then picking up a piece of green pepper. He threw that at me. "But it doesn't mean I won't throw anything else."

I pretended to look shocked before running around the counter to the refrigerator, grabbing the bowl of cut mushrooms on my way. I opened the door, using it as a shield and pelted a few mushrooms at him. He threw peppers back, all hitting the refrigerator door.

"No fair. You can't use a shield!" he said, then ran over to where I was behind the door to get me.

"You're not allowed to cross into the enemy territory!" I said in protest, turning so the peppers hit my back.

After a few minutes of playful banter and a small food fight, the kitchen was a mess and we were out of most of our pizza toppings.

"At least we still have cheese," I said.

"The cheese you're wearing in your hair?" he asked, coming close to me pull a piece of mozzarella from my hair.

"How did that get there?" I wondered.

"Is it always this much fun to make dinner with you?" Mark asked, pulling me close.

"I don't know. Maybe we'll have to do it more often and find out," I replied, closing the gap between us to kiss him.

A few minutes later we put our pizza in the oven before moving the couch to continue our make out session. Twenty minutes later, and just as things were getting really heated, the timer went off for the pizza.

"It's ready already?" Mark asked, once he pulled away from me, sounding disappointed.

"We don't have to eat it now. Ovens are for reheating things too," I pointed out.

"Good point," Mark said, kissing me on the forehead. "I'm not really hungry for pizza right now anyway," he said, implying his mind was still on me, which I didn't mind at all. I felt so comfortable and happy with Mark, and it was nice that he seemed to feel the same way about me.

We went into the kitchen with the intent on heating the pizza up later, but it smelled and looked so good, we decided it was a better idea to eat it now.

"Mmm, I think I'm hungry now," he said when I pulled it out of the oven.

"Me too," I agreed.

* * *

Verchota's POV

Wednesday morning I woke up happier than usual because it was the last day before our mini break for Thanksgiving. Not that I didn't love hockey, but after hours of practice every day, a break was really nice and well deserved. The team was working so hard, and sometimes I think Herb noticed but pretended not to, and other times he didn't seem to notice at all.

I often thought that when he told us we played like shit, he was doing it to scare us into playing harder, but I could never be really sure. Even after playing for him in college, I didn't understand him. He seemed worse now though. Mac and Buzz agreed with me, as did everyone else from his team at the U. Even the guys who never played for him before agreed he could have never been worse than he was now.

Our Thanksgiving break meant a few important things other than having off from practice however. First, it was my favorite holiday because there was so much good food. Granted, my mom usually messed up the turkey, but the dressing, gravy, and potatoes were my favorite parts anyway. I knew Rizzo cooked well, so I was looking forward to this year's dinner.

The second most important part about Thanksgiving was the sitting and relaxing. Hours upon hours of football games to watch was awesome, and playing pickup football was even better. I was actually recruited for football and hockey at the U, but decided on hockey because I liked it better. I never regret the decision, but I still love playing football.

"Verchota!" Pav said, spotting me walking into the arena Wednesday morning. "Wait up."

"Ready for a day off?" I asked.

"Hell yeah. I need a break. My legs need a day to not move at all."

"You gotta be ready for the game though," I said, talking about the pickup football game we already discussed playing. Teams were already made and Pav was on my team.

"I'll be ready," Pav said, knowing exactly which game I was talking about. "Verchota, did you ever figure out what happened with Riley that night?"

I thought for a minute. "Not really. I found a condom wrapper under the bed when I cleaned this past weekend though," I told him.

"So you think you two had sex then?"

"I don't know. It could have been there before that night we were together. I don't think anything happened," I said.

"You don't think_ anything_ happened? Or you don't think you had _sex_ with her?" Pav questioned me.

"I don't think we had sex. We made out, I know that much, and maybe things went a little more south, but I don't think we did it."

"Does it bother you that you might never know?" Pav asked.

_Pav, ever the naïve one, _I thought. Maybe naïve wasn't the right word, because he wasn't totally innocent and inexperienced, but he was when it came to certain things.

"I'm over it," I told him. "You'd get over it too," I teased him. He knew exactly what I meant by that.

"I have no desire to sleep with her. Or do anything else," Pav added as an afterthought. "Unlike you and Silky, I don't need to settle for anyone that's willing if _I_ want to get laid."

"No, the blind squirrel always finds a nut eventually," I said, making a joke out of the diss directed at me. After a comment OC made about Pav at a bar one night, the team's inside joke with Pav was that he was a blind squirrel.

"You're funny Verchota," Pav said sarcastically, though I knew the jokes didn't bother him at all.

That was one thing that was so great about the team. We all got along pretty well now, and we loved joking and teasing each other. It was almost like we were a big family. We were there for each other whether something good or funny was happening and we were there for each other when we played bad at practice and we were down.


	21. Chapter 20: Simply Irresistible

dogdaysareover: Glad you liked the chapter and Jimmy's part. He is a sweetheart and he knows what Riley's going through, so he's trying to help. Hope you enjoy this chapter too!

NellieBly413672: Thanks for the review! Glad you liked the POVs. Jimmy and OC were my favorite to write, lol. Glad you liked Mark and Emma too - they'll have more coming up in the next few chapters.

LTJM: Glad you liked the different POVs. Thanks for the review and enjoy the chapter!

Peachy65: Thanks - glad you liked it with the POVs. And I really like your thoughts on Riley. As you've sort of seen already, and you'll see more coming up, she is definitely having a really hard time with her dad's death. Glad you like Mark and Emma too!

A/N: Thanks again for the reviews! Please review this one too - my next chapter is almost finished and I cannot wait to post. Reviews may just motivate to post fast (hint, hint, nudge, nudge)!

**Chapter 20:**

Thanksgiving morning, Rizzo got up early to get the turkey ready. He dragged OC out of bed too, mainly just to keep him company though because he knew OC would be of no real help.

"Why isn't football on yet?" OC wondered out loud. The guys were in the common room on the floor, OC in the area of the room with the couch and TV and Rizzo standing at the kitchen counter. "All that's on is that stupid parade."

"It's eight in morning. College football doesn't come on until this afternoon," Rizzo pointed out.

"So remind me why I'm up this early again?" OC said. Rizzo didn't reply but just shook his head like he wasn't surprised with OC's lack of interest in helping out.

About fifteen minutes later, OC was done complaining but still not ready to help out. He was standing near the counter, talking to Rizzo about the team, sports, girls, and a bunch of other stuff while Rizzo got the turkey ready to go in the oven.

Rammer and Mac ended up joining them in the common room shortly thereafter.

"Weren't you two going home?" OC asked them.

"Not yet," Rammer said. "It's way too early. If I go home now, I'll have to help do things." The guys laughed, knowing they would all do the same thing.

"Rizzo, why were you designated to make the turkey?" Mac wondered.

"Because I'm the only one that can cook anything other than mac and cheese from a box."

"Have you ever made a turkey before?" Rammer asked.

"No, but how hard can it be?"

"Pam gave him some pointers, don't let him make you think he's doing this blind," OC told Mac and Rammer.

"Speaking of Pam… I never heard what happened while she was here?" Mac said, wanting to know.

"What do you mean, what happened?" Rizzo asked.

"Don't play dumb, Rizzo. You know what he means," OC said. "They already know I was kicked out of your room a few times."

Rizzo blushed. "Nothing happened that's any of your business," he managed to get out.

"You two finally did the deed!" Rammer said. Rizzo's face was an even brighter shade of red now.

"No need to be embarrassed, Riz. Everyone does it," Mac said.

"I'm not embarrassed," Rizzo said.

"He's just modest," OC said for him and laughed.

"Maybe you guys should try it sometime," Rizzo said, speaking of being modest, trying to get the attention off of himself.

"I don't believe in that word," Mac joked.

* * *

Several hours later, the guys that were staying for dinner, and a few that weren't, all gathered around the counter where all the food was laid out.

"This looks delicious!" Pav said.

"Yeah it does," Bah added.

"I thought you were going to your girlfriend's parent's house for dinner?" Baker asked.

"I think I might stay here now. The food looks so good," he said, clearly putting off leaving.

"Get out of here Bah," Verchota said.

"Bah, look at it this way. If you go and it goes well, Kristen will be happy and you'll get laid tonight. If you go and it doesn't go well, Kristen will try to make you feel better and you'll get laid tonight. Either way, you're one up on all of us bachelors," OC told him.

Bah reluctantly left, leaving the guys that were actually staying to get their food and crowd around the TV.

"This definitely beats my parents Thanksgiving," Verchota commented. "Not only is the food delicious, Rizzo, but I get to watch football while I'm eating dinner."

Everyone agreed. No one ate Thanksgiving dinner in front of the TV at home.

"I'm glad I'm not home because my mom makes everyone go around the table and say something we're thankful for," Pav said.

"That sucks," Baker commented.

"Yeah, especially because there are usually twenty people and it takes forever. By the time we're done, I could've been finished eating!"

"And back to watching football!" Verchota said.

"At home, the girls in my family make everyone play stupid board games after dinner," Christian said. "They take forever because my grandma plays and she can't see." The guys sort of laughed before Christian continued. "So, we're playing sorry and she's like, reading the card three times, so she knows what to do. Half the time, she still doesn't get it!" The guys laughed some more, and all took turns sharing family stories during dinner.

"You know, for as weird as my family is, I sort of miss it. Ya know, being with them on the holidays," OC said. Following that, there were a few seconds of silence, showing that everyone agreed.

"Okay, enough of this sentimental crap – let's play some football!" OC said.

"I can't move right now," Verchota said. "I ate way too much!"

"I don't know how you can be ready to play football now, OC," Silk said. "I need time to digest."

"Fine, babies. You all take some time to digest."

"When you hurl on the field-" Rizzo began, getting cut off by Baker.

"He better not, because it'll probably be when he's getting tackled. And then an opponent, like me for example, will get puke all over them."

"Fine, I'll wait ten minutes," OC said, digressing.

"Well, OC, you don't have to wait," Pav started, "but you'll be the only one out there right now."

"What, you think I can't handle being a one man team?" OC joked. "I'm good enough to be the quarterback and wide receiver at the same time."

* * *

Meanwhile, Bah was celebrating Thanksgiving with Kristen. He had arrived a half hour before the rest of her family, so it made it a little easier to meet her parents, but at the same time, it made Bah more nervous. Since he left the dorms later than intended, half on purpose, Bah then realized he would probably be late. He didn't want that, so he sped the whole way, hoping he wouldn't get pulled over. _At least the cops would probably let me off on account of my patheticness, _he thought, thinking that explaining the situation would sound ridiculous.

Bah wasn't sure why he was so nervous, because 'meeting the parents' never really bothered him. Bah knew Kristen was special, and from his nerves, he knew she was even more special than he realized.

After sitting in his car just in front of her family home for eight minutes exactly, judging by him glancing at his watch every few seconds, he decided it was time to go in.

He ran the doorbell and waited patiently, hoping Kristen would answer the door as opposed to one of her parents. Bah looked at his watch. Two minutes went by and no one answered. He looked at his watch again and decided to wait until three minutes had gone by before ringing the doorbell again. Ten seconds. Just as Bah reached up to ring the bell, the door opened.

"Hi!" Kristen said, greeting him happily.

"Hi," Bah replied, looking relieved that Kristen answered.

"I thought about making you wait ten minutes, because that's how long you were waiting in your car, but I thought you might vomit on the porch, so I decided to let you in."

"You saw me out there?" Bah asked.

"Yep," Kristen admitted, smiling.

"I feel stupid."

"I felt dumb standing at window watching you. Geese, ten minutes! I was beginning to think you weren't coming in."

"It was only eight minutes," Bah said. "And what did you mean by you thought I was going to vomit?" he asked.

"You looked nervous out there," Kristen told him. "Don't be."

"It's easier said than done," Bah replied. Then, he whispered, because he didn't want her parents to hear, "You had me nervous the minute you said they're old fashioned."

Kristen laughed at Bah. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean they're that old fashioned, just more than most other people's parents I know."

Kristen gave her boyfriend's hand a comforting squeeze, and then pulled him from the hallway into the living room. "My parents are in the kitchen. Ready to go meet them?"

"No," Bah said, joking but serious at the same time.

"You'll be fine," Kristen said, giving him a quick kiss.

"Mom, Dad," Kristen said as she pulled Bah through the dining room and to the kitchen doorway. This is my boyfriend, Bah."

Normally, people questioned his nickname, but apparently Kristen already explained it to her parents because they didn't ask about it.

"Nice to meet you, Bah," Kristen's mom said, sticking out her hand for Bah to shake. "You can call me Liz."

Kristen's dad introduced himself as Steve, and once hands were shaken, Bah felt a little more at ease. Granted, he barely talked to them, but just getting introductions out of the way made him feel better. Being given permission to call them by their first names also made him feel more at ease. They couldn't be too old fashioned if they preferred first names.

"We're so happy you were able to make it," Liz said. "Kristen always tells us how busy you are with hockey."

"Uh, yeah, it keeps me pretty busy. The coach is keeping us to a fairly rigorous schedule."

"Is it always like that?" Steve asked. "The travel, the time commitment?"

"Well, since we're training for the Olympics now, it's a big commitment, but it's not too bad."

"Well, I would guess the NHL is the same," Steve continued. Bah really wished they weren't going down this line of conversation. He didn't want to admit how much time was involved in the NHL schedule. He knew he'd be faced with a tight schedule for as long as he was fortunate enough to play hockey. Bah also knew why Steve was asking. He had a feeling Kristen's father was insinuating that if Kristen and Bah were to ever get married, he wouldn't be there for her because of hockey. Bah knew that wasn't the case, and besides, they hadn't been dating long enough to even think along the lines of marriage anyway.

"It probably is, but the way I look at it is that it's sort of like any other job," Bah answered. "I get to do something I love while making some money. The hours aren't always great, but it'll be a job that I enjoy going to work." Bah looked at Kristen who gave him an encouraging smile.

"Well, Kristen talks about you all the time," Liz commented. "We're so excited that we finally have the chance to meet you." Liz seemed to realize that Bah wanted to get off the topic of hockey, which Bah appreciated.

After a few minutes of chatting, Bah asked if there was anything he could help out with. He and Kristen ended up setting the table, and then just hung out until the rest of the family arrived.

Bah became overwhelmed quickly with Kristen's family. There were a lot of them. By the time everyone arrived, Bah never wanted to explain his nickname again. He should have just gone with 'John' for the night. At one point, he tried to, but Kristen kept introducing him as Bah. The most interesting part was when people asked why Kristen called him by his nickname.

"He likes when I call him Bah. For him, that's more like his name. Just like anyone else with a nickname," Kristen said while sharing a knowing smile with Bah. The real reason Kristen always called him Bah was because he told Kristen the way she said Bah was sexy. Kristen didn't actually know if it was just Bah trying to charm her, or whether he really meant what he said, because everyone called him Bah anyway, but it didn't really matter to Kristen. He was Bah to her.

During dinner, Bah sat next to Kristen near the end of the table with who he thought he remembered as one of Kristen's aunts. If he really pushed his memory, the lady was her mom's oldest sister, but Bah couldn't be sure. Twenty-two people were over for dinner, and he was lucky he remembered what her parents looked like, let alone anyone else.

"So, Kristen, whatever happened to Dan?" the aunt asked.

Kristen looked at Bah with an apologetic look before answering. She warned him this would probably come up at some point.

"Nothing, Aunt Helen. I've told you a million times that Dan and I have always been _just_ friends." Bah noticed that Kristen said this with a forced smile, as if she indeed told her aunt the same thing a million times.

"But Dan is such a nice boy. And he is so handsome," her aunt said, beaming.

"Then why doesn't she marry him," Kristen muttered to Bah, making him chuckle a little before she turned to her Aunt.

"Dan's seeing someone," Kristen said, hoping to defer the conversation. Bah knew exactly what Kristen was doing too, because Dan wasn't seeing anyone.

"What a shame," the aunt responded. Kristen looked at Bah and rolled her eyes. Bah knew what that was like. His family, mainly his aunts, always seemed set on him and Emma being together. At least his parents knew better. Kristen's parents seemed to know better too.

"Is it weird that Kristen has a best friend that's a guy?" Kristen's dad asked. "Do you ever get a little jealous?"

"No, not really," Bah said with a shrug.

"Come on, be honest," Steve pushed.

"I'm not jealous of them. My best friend is a girl, so we're kind of in the same boat."

"Kristen never told us that," Steve said, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, Dad, I have," Kristen said, trying to keep a pleasant tone.

"Isn't it tough to be just friends with her though? I mean, something probably happened between you two at some point," Steve continued on.

Before Bah could open his mouth to speak, Kristen jumped in, now becoming angry.

"Dad, just like I can have a platonic relationship with a guy, Bah can have the same with a girl. Neither one of us are jealous of each other's friends."

"Kristen, lower your tone. There's no need to speak to your father like that," Liz said sternly but calmly. Kristen kept quiet, she knew better than to say anything more now, but she really wished they would stop talking about Bah. Kristen knew her dad was searching for multiple things he didn't like about her boyfriend so he could tell her how much he hated him later. Kristen really wished someone would change the topic of conversation.

"Hey Bob?" one of Kristen's nephews began. Bah didn't bother correcting the kid – he was only about five. "I want to be a hockey player when I grow up like you."

"Well, I bet you can do it, buddy," Bah said in encouragement.

"They get all the girls," the youngster said casually.

Everyone in the vicinity of the table that heard the comment began laughing. Bah practically chocked on his water he had just sipped. He looked over at Kristen to see her beet red face.

"Where on earth did he come up with that?" Bah asked Kristen. He had a feeling it was either an inside joke between Kristen and one of her siblings, or something that was said in front of her nephew that wasn't meant for him to hear.

"Kids just say the funniest things, don't they?" was Kristen's response.

After dinner, Bah insisted on helping Liz in the kitchen. He wanted to be sure to stay on her good side, because it seemed to him that he may have already managed to get on Steve's bad side. He wasn't sure how, because he had done everything he could to be nice.

"Thanks for the help Bah. It's nice that a guy doesn't mind picking up a towel to dry the dishes."

"It's no problem," Bah said. Liz went onto ask Bah about his family, and from the questions, Bah sensed it was more to get an idea of family values. Bah didn't know why his high school curfew time or how often he went to church was important, but apparently it was to Liz.

Bah was glad when Kristen came in to help with the dishes as well, because Liz was now making him feel uncomfortable as well as Steve. There were still a few awkward moments as far as conversation topics went, but for the most part, Bah didn't feel like he was in the spotlight as much when Kristen was in the room with him.

After the dishes were cleaned up and leftovers were put away, Kristen and Bah went downstairs to join her nieces and nephews. Kristen's basement was furnished and there were arcade and bar type games to play.

"Kristen, why don't you stay up here with the adults? You don't need to be fooling around like children with the little ones," Liz commented as Kristen was leading Bah to the basement stairs.

"I haven't seen the kids in a while so I'm going to spend a little time with them," Kristen said.

"Mom, let her go," Kristen's sister, and the mother of two of the six youngsters, spoke up. "They sort of need some supervision down there." Kristen's sister knew that she would much rather be with her nieces and nephews. Kristen was the baby in the family, youngest of five kids by five years, and she was still a kid at heart. Besides that, Kristen was the only of her siblings that wasn't married, so sitting at the table with Bah would have just been awkward.

If they stayed at the table, Kristen knew it would be inevitably, in-laws arguing and more of the third degree for Bah. She wanted to avoid all of that for Bah's sake.

"Alright, go ahead," Liz said, though not looking completely happy about it.

"I think someone might want to head down and supervise Kristen and Bah," Bah heard, most likely Kristen's brother, comment as they were on their way downstairs.

Bah hoped Liz and Steve knew their son was kidding.

He then heard Steve, "Kristen knows better. She knows from experience that I know everything that goes on in this house. There will be no making out in my house."

"Or more than that," Kristen's brother snickered quietly, without being heard by Steve.

The couple had fun playing with the little kids, but within ten minutes of getting downstairs, they were called for pie. The kids fled upstairs like there was a fire, while Kristen stayed to clean up a bit. With six kids under the age of eight running around, things tended to get messy.

Bah was helping her until Kristen knew the kids were all upstairs and pushed Bah against the wall, beginning to kiss him.

"I've been dying to do this all night," she said, undoing the top buttons on Bah's shirt. Bah kissed her back, but then pushed her away.

"What are you doing?" Bah asked incredulously.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Kristen said back, smiling.

"We have to stop," Bah said sternly, not going to give into her beautiful smile.

"Why?" Kristen said. "Everyone upstairs is preoccupied with dessert. I'd rather have my dessert down here," she added with a flirty smile.

"Kristen, stop," Bah said, more forcefully, pushing her arms away. "Your parents could walk down here any minute. They already hate me. I don't want them to see me making out with you and have them hate me more."

"If they walk down here in a minute, we'll be doing more than making out," Kristen said, smiling, trying once again to take Bah's shirt off. "You're that irresistable."

Just then, they heard footsteps on the basement stairs. Bah quickly fixed his shirt and moved far away from Kristen.

"Are you two horny kids ready for dessert?" Kristen's brother asked. Even though Bah was fully dressed and far from Kristen, he was glad it was her brother and not one of her parents. "Or did you already have your fill?" he asked, chuckling.

"Funny, Eric," Kristen commented. "We were cleaning up. We're on our way now." Walking upstairs, Kristen whispered to Bah, "We'll finish this later."

Bah hoped so, but he also hoped it was far away from Kristen's parents. Like in another state.

* * *

As the team was enjoying their Thanksgiving and Kristen and Bah were enjoying Thanksgiving, the Brennan and Brooks' families were trying to enjoy theirs too.

As usual, Riley was in a bad mood and wasn't looking forward to evening. It would have been that way with any family function, but this was worse than normal because in addition to the normal company that she had grown accustomed to over the past several months were another two aunts, an uncle, two other younger cousins, and a grandfather.

The only good thing was that for once she was going to be treated as an adult. Since her siblings and cousins were no older than twelve, Riley was the oldest by far and able to sit at the 'grown up table'.

The dinner conversation started out with the normal compliments on the food and how wonderful it was to all be together, but it quickly turned to Herb's Olympic hockey team.

"So Herb, how is the team looking?" Riley's uncle asked.

"They have their good days and bad days. It's hard to say. What do you think Riley?" Herb asked, bringing his niece into the conversation.

"I think they look good. Not all the time, of course, but all in all I think they do," Riley said, sharing her uncle's view on the team. Riley only agreed because she wasn't paying much attention to begin with.

"Good group of guys?" Riley's grandfather asked.

"They seem to be getting along, although I don't see them as much as Riley does," Herb said. "Well, I don't see them much outside of hockey," Herb added. "Riley hangs out with them quite a bit."

"So what's their not hockey side like? Are they coming together as a team?" asked one of the aunt's.

"Yeah," Riley said, unsure of what else to say.

"Must be nice getting to hang out with older guys," the other aunt said. "I bet they're cute."

"It gives me something to do," Riley answered, not responding to the cute part. She couldn't say too much with Herb sitting right there.

"Riley doesn't see them like that," Herb answered, commenting on the second part of the aunt's statement. "They're all just friends."

Riley hoped no one noticed the guilty look that she knew was creeping up on her face. As she focused on the plate in front of her, Riley was really hoping the conversation topic would change.

"So who's your best player?" the grandfather asked, beginning a conversation that only the two men and Riley were at all interested in.

_Well, not totally a new topic, but at least it's off me,_ Riley thought.

"Hard to say," Herb said. "I'd rather not name names. Each one has the potential to be the best on any given day." Then he went on. "Jimmy's game in net is really stepping up. All the drills he's been practicing are building confidence.

"What about those two you told me that fought at practice?" Riley's grandfather wondered.

"Oh, OC and Mac," Herb said laughing. "I think they seem to be getting along okay now. Think so Ri?"

"Yeah," Riley agreed. "I don't think they hate each other anymore." Riley didn't add that she thought OC was a jerk and hoped he would be the last cut.

"They're both excellent players," Herb continued. "I'm glad they could settle their differences."

"What about that Mark Johnson character?"

"He's good," Herb said. "Very talented."

"I would hope they're all talented," an aunt commented.

"They all have talent, but you can't win this game on talent alone," Herb said. Riley could have called that line. Herb used it so much Riley sometimes heard it in her sleep. "They need conditioning to keep up with the team's we'll be playing, and they need to work together."

"Are there any players that aren't playing up to your expectations?"

"On any day it changes," Herb said, "but I still need to make a cut."

"Who are you thinking?" Riley's mom asked.

Herb looked at his niece, almost like he didn't want to say anything with her sitting there. He did anyway.

"I have a select few who can't seem to produce goals. Mike Eruzione needs work, and I just don't know what to do with him. He busts his ass day in and day out, but he can't produce."

Riley was shocked. She liked Rizzo. He always seemed like a really nice guy. _I hope he's not cut,_ she thought.

"Who do you think should get the boot, Riley?" her grandfather wondered.

"Jack O'Callahan," Riley said, even before she knew it was coming from her mouth.

"OC?" Herb wondered, sounding surprised.

"Why him?" her grandfather asked.

"Personally, I don't like his attitude," Riley answered honestly.

"On the ice or off the ice?" Herb wondered.

"Both," Riley responded. Herb nodded, as if that was the answer he expected.

"He's sure a hot head," Herb replied. "We need a guy like him to rile up opponents though. Cocky or not," Herb added, thinking Riley didn't like his attitude because he was cocky. That wasn't the whole reason though.

* * *

After digesting dinner, the team went outside to play their football game. Since the teams were already decided upon, they didn't have to argue about that, but there was an argument over tackle versus two-hand touch.

"If someone gets injured, Herb will kill us."

"This isn't the NFL – no one's gonna get hurt," Verchota said.

"Exactly, this isn't the NFL," Rizzo began. "This'll be worse than the NFL. We'll all try to kill each other!"

"Leave it to Rizzo to be the mother of everyone," OC said dryly, tossing the football he was holding from hand to hand.

"For whatever it's worth, I agree with Rizzo," Mark said.

"It's not worth anything," Silk said. "You're practically as bad as him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mark asked, knowing Silk couldn't possibly think he tried to mother people like Rizzo. He never watched out for people like Rizzo did.

"You're always doing the right thing," Silk explained. "It's like you're afraid of getting in trouble."

"I'm not afraid of getting in trouble!" Mark protested.

"Yeah you are," Verchota and OC said at the same time.

"Whatever. I still think we should play two hand touch."

"Well, you and Rizzo lost. You're outnumbered – seven to three."

"Who didn't vote?" Rizzo asked, though no one admitted to not voting.

"Who cares, let's just play," OC said, now becoming impatient.

The football game began with the guys being serious, but very quickly it became all fun. Although they still sort of cared who won, no one complained or argued over calls and rules. Most importantly, no one was injured like Rizzo thought.

"All right, I stand corrected," Rizzo told OC while they were walking back to their room after the game. "Nobody got hurt."

"Told you," OC said.

"But it was a risk, you have to admit that," Rizzo said.

"I'm not admitting anything," OC said. "It's not like we played that rough."

"Guys wait up," Verchota said, stopping them. "I almost forgot about dessert. I made pie."

"You? Made pie?" OC asked, laughing. "Yeah, right."

"No really. I did," Verchota said, looking completely honest.

"Is it edible?" Rizzo asked.

"Yeah. I make a mean pumpkin pie."

"Alright," Rizzo said. "If you say so."

The guys all went upstairs together to eat Verchota's pie and watch some more football. To their disappointment, they couldn't find any more football games on, so they eventually settled on a Christmas movie instead.

"Why are we watching a Christmas movie?" Pav, who came in the room late, asked.

"Because that's all that's on."

"It's a little early for Christmas movies," Pav commented.

"What? Three hours early?" OC asked. "The Christmas season officially starts the day after Thanksgiving."

As the guys were arguing over the official beginning of the Christmas season, Verchota served the pie.

"This is really good!" Rizzo commented.

"Yeah, I'll say," Mark agreed.

"How in the world did you learn to bake pie?" Silky asked.

"My mom," Verchota said with a shrug.

A few minutes later, Mac arrived back to the dorms after his family dinner.

"Yes! There's pie!" he said, sounding excited. He grabbed a piece and joined the guys sitting around the TV.

"Um, this is a closed party," Silk joked. "You weren't invited to have pie."

"Verchota said I could. I hate my mom's pie, but his mom's is irresistible so I told him I was having dessert here."

"Verchota made this," Rizzo said.

Mac began laughing. "Okay, sure, and I'm celibate." After Mac was finished laughing, he said, "Verchota couldn't bake if his life depended on it."

The guys all looked to Verchota for an explanation. Verchota grabbed Mac's plate and fork.

"Hey!" Mac protested.

"I thought I made it clear that you could only have pie if you went along with the story that_ I_ made it!"

"Must have missed that part," Mac said with his mouth full from the last bite he managed to get before Verchota pulled it away.

"So you didn't make it," Silk said. With a big grin he added, "And here, I thought we had a Betty Crocker on our hands."

"Who made it?" OC asked.

"My mom," Verchota admitted.

"You're something else, Verchota," Mark commented.

"Tell your mom thanks for the pie," Mac said, his mouth full again after getting a different piece of pie after Verchota confiscated the first.

* * *

A/N: Okay, included are some "previews" for the next one. Coming up next…

"I think he took Riley somewhere to sober up. I thought I saw them leaving."

"Sure he took her somewhere to sober her up."

* * *

"What's a case race?"

"Nothing that you are taking part in."

* * *

"She's completely out of it."

"Should we call an ambulance?"

* * *

"We really should stop before this goes any further."

Okay, please hit that little button and review! I cannot wait to post this chapter, and the more reviews I get, the faster I will post!


	22. Chapter 21: The Queen and I

NellieBly413672: Thanks for the review! I couldn't make Bah have it completely easy, lol. Glad you liked the Herb part too. And I hope you like this chapter too!

dogdaysareover: Glad you liked the update and the previews – I hope this is up to your expectations! Thanks for reviewing!

LTJM: Glad you liked the chapter, and thanks for reviewing!

A/N: Okay, here it is. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! I was going to hold out for more reviews, but I didn't want to make those who did review wait, and I couldn't wait any longer myself, lol. I really like this chapter, but I'm a little nervous about posting it, because I don't know what kind of reaction I'll get…. Anyway, I have the next few chapters pretty much planned out, and starting with this one there is a lot happening and a lot of drama with everyone. I would really like to know what everyone's thoughts are on these next few chapters!

**Chapter 21: The Queen and I**

"Case race tonight, Verchota?" OC said loudly in the middle of the hallway one Friday early in December after practice.

"Hell yeah. I already said I'd be there!" Verchota responded, clearly excited.

"We're gonna take you down Mac," OC said, knowing Verchota would be a good teammate.

"Only if you find another person," Mac said, thinking OC wouldn't be able to find another teammate.

Last time the guys had a case race, OC, Verchota, Silky, and Rammer were on a team and they demolished Mac's team. Mac's team consisted of Mac, Pav, Bah, and Rizzo. After losing so bad, Mac's team demanded a rematch. However, this time Rammer had a family dinner so he wasn't joining them and OC's team needed a replacement.

"What's a case race?" Riley asked, overhearing the conversation.

"Nothing that you are taking part in," OC told her.

"What is it?" she asked again, looking to the other guys for an answer.

Mac answered her. "It's a race to finish a case of beer first."

Riley looked at him wondering what the point was.

"It's just for the fun of it," Verchota told her, as if he could tell she was wondering why they were doing it.

"I'll play."

"It's not a game," OC said flatly.

"Let her join, OC," Mac said with a smile. Mac knew OC's team would never win with Riley. Girls couldn't hold their alcohol to compete with guys. "You need another person on your team," he pointed out.

"I think we'll be fine with three people."

Verchota leaned toward OC so Riley couldn't hear and said, "No matter how little she drinks, at least it'll help us out a little."

"No, no, no, and NO," OC said.

Somehow, OC ended up eventually agreeing on letting the teen join them. If he only knew how big a mistake that would turn out to be…

* * *

That night, everyone showed up at the party ready to go for the case race. Most of the guys that weren't joining in were there anyway to cheer everyone else on.

"Whose team am I on?" Riley asked.

"Ours, unfortunately," OC said.

Riley decided to ignore how mean OC was being and tried to be nice herself. If she had to be on the same team as him, she didn't want to start the night off badly.

"OC, you'll be surprised with how much I help the team," Riley told him, nicely. "I promise that you'll thank me by the end of the night."

"This will be over before the end of the night. It's a _race_, shortcake," he commented, noticing that Riley didn't give him attitude for once. OC however, did notice the glare he got with the "shortcake" nickname. _Maybe I'll ask her about it when she's good and drunk,_ he thought.

Silky went on to tell Riley the rules. When he was done, he reiterated a few he deemed important. "So remember, puking and quitting are disqualifications, so don't do it. If you feel like you can't drink anymore, just sip until you're done – but don't stop!"

"I got it," Riley said, grabbing a beer to get set to go. "This isn't rocket science."

A few minutes later, everyone was ready to start drinking. The eight people participating in the race held cans of beer in one hand, with their other hand ready to pop them open.

"Ready… set… go!" Christian called out as the ref, starting the race.

At first, everyone was able to keep up with each other. Even Riley was chugging pretty quickly. Beer after beer, the race was tight. Midway through, Riley was on her third beer, and wondered if this was a mistake. A thirty pack with four people per team meant everyone had to drink at least seven beers! Seven beers was nothing for these guys, but for Riley, it was a lot. Besides that, she didn't eat since lunch which was several hours ago.

By the end of beer five for Riley, it was nearing the end of beer six for everyone else on her team. Riley was also starting to feel slightly drunk. Her first clue was that slightly dizzy feeling taking over. She couldn't totally see straight either, and everything she was hearing was a blur. She managed to hear Pav say something about being on his fifth. He was right with Riley then.

"Mac's team needs to catch up," Christian said. He was counting the beers left. "Seven left for OC's team, nine left for Mac's team. We're fourteen minutes in."

Everyone started slowing down at that point, but no one was ready to quit. At the twenty minute mark, OC's team was almost done. Riley was the only one on her team with a beer left, and she only had a small amount remaining. Pav just began his seventh beer, and Mac just began his eighth, so everyone knew Riley could pull it off. By now, it was more of a formality that Riley finished. Everyone knew OC's team was the winning team.

"Come on, Riley," OC said, cheering her on. Verchota and Silk were cheering for her to finish too. She finally did and OC's team erupted in clapping and cheering.

"I knew you could do it!" Verchota said.

"Good job Riley," Silky said, patting her on the back. By this point everyone was feeling a little tipsy. Seven or eight beers in twenty minutes was an impressive feat, and one that meant they would feel the effects sooner rather than later. While the guys were just tipsy though, Riley was in a daze. She knew her team won, but she was really out of it. She started losing her balance and fell into OC, who caught her fall.

"Sssorry," she slurred out. OC picked up on the fact that Riley was really drunk.

"Why don't you sit down for a few minutes," he suggested. Because she couldn't stand, let alone walk, OC led her to the couch.

Verchota and Silky were busy celebrating their win and the other team was a little sullen about their second loss while OC tended to Riley. Bah came over to where they were sitting a few minutes later and asked if she was all right.

"I don't know man," was OC's response. "She's completely out of it."

"Riley?" Bah said, trying to get her attention. She didn't react at all. It was almost like she didn't even hear Bah.

"Is it just me or is the room spinning?" Riley asked to no one in particular a few seconds later.

"It's just you," OC responded rhetorically.

"Whoa, she's drunk," Verchota commented when he saw Riley sitting on the couch. "She can't even sit straight."

"I know. I told you inviting her to play was a bad idea," OC told Verchota.

"Overwhelming concern for Riley was_ not_ why you didn't want her to play," Verchota answered back.

"Still, if you would have listened…" OC trailed off.

"So what? She's a little drunk," Verchota said, acting like it was no big deal.

"A little?" Bah scoffed.

"Yeah, and who's sitting here with her?" OC challenged.

"No one asked you to. Just leave her there," Verchota said.

"And what? Hope she doesn't pass out?"

"Since when do you care, OC. You hate Riley."

"Yeah, but I don't want anything bad to happen to her either."

"She's not gonna pass out," Verchota said nonchalantly.

"I wouldn't sound so sure about that," Bah commented.

Riley then leaned over to OC. "You know what?"

"What?" he asked, wishing someone else was sitting with her at this point.

"When I first met you, I thought you were really hot. But then, you were such a jerk, it was like you weren't hot. But really, you are hot, but you're still a jerk."

"Thanks, shortcake," OC said, sounding as if he'd been told that by hundreds of other drunk girls all the time.

"You're a jerk because you call me strawberry shortcake."

"I know," was OC's response. He knew Riley was 'drunk talking' so he chose to half ignore what she was saying.

"I'm gonna get up know," Riley said, pulling herself off the couch, only to fall over.

"Riley, sit down," Bah told her.

"I don't want to. I'm getting another drink."

"No you're not," OC said.

"You can't tell me what to do," she spat back.

"Well, you're not going to the hospital with alcohol poisoning on my watch." Riley sat back down, but as soon as she did, she started tipping over and her eyes sort of began closing.

"Riley!" OC called, shaking her arm. "Bah grab me some water! Riley!" OC said again, louder, as Bah ran to get a glass of water.

"I'm tired," Riley said. OC was relieved she responded.

"No, you can't go to sleep. Drink some water," he said, grabbing the glass the Bah as soon as he came back.

"Should we call an ambulance?" Bah wondered.

"No," OC said. "She'll be fine. I just need to get water in her." He sure hoped that was the case.

"Drink this," OC said, holding the glass to Riley's lips. She listened and drank the water.

"The music is loud. I want to go home," Riley said.

"No way. You're not leaving."

"But it's hurting my head!"

"You can't go home. Herb will kill us if he knows we got you drunk."

"You can't stop me," Riley said. As she tried to get up, OC got up too so he could keep her from falling.

"Look, Riley, we're all drunk. No one can drive you home, and you're not walking, so you can't leave."

"I'll call for a ride."

"No you won't," OC said.

"OC, I'm not staying here."

OC sighed. There was no winning with her. She was stubborn. "Then at least stay in my room until we can get you home," he said.

"Fine," Riley said, thought clearly not happy about the plan.

On their way to OC's room, he grabbed a beer to go. Sitting with Riley for several hours meant this was going to be a long night. He would probably need more than one beer, but it would do for now.

* * *

Meanwhile, the guys all continued to have a good time. By now, the guys that hadn't participated in the case race were caught up in number of beers to the ones that had. They invited some other girls from their dorm building as well, so it was sure to be a good time.

"Where'd OC go?" Silky asked shortly after his friend and Riley left.

"I think he took Riley somewhere to sober up," Pav said. "I thought I saw them leaving."

"Sure he took her somewhere to sober her up," Mac said like he didn't believe it for a second.

"Mac, remember who he's with," Silk reminded him. "They hate each other. He and Riley are like siblings that don't get along."

"They're worse than siblings," Rizzo commented. "But at least I can count on him to look after her and not take advantage." Rizzo looked directly at Silk with his last comment.

Silk just gave him the finger and went back to drinking with the other guys and a few girls who were standing nearby.

* * *

Back in OC's room, Riley was trying to lie down but OC wouldn't let her.

"I can't let you go to sleep right now. If you throw up, you'll choke and suffocate on your own vomit."

"Like you'd care," Riley said, rolling her eyes.

"I don't need this shit from you right now," OC said, getting angry. "I'm doing you a favor by sitting here when I could be meeting a girl to get laid later on."

"Nobody asked you to sit here," Riley said, like she would be better off alone.

"And what do you think I should do? Leave you alone to do something stupid?"

"I'm not a child. I don't need a babysitter."

"That's debatable," OC said. He then added, "The way you act, it seems like people do need to keep tabs on you."

"The way _I_ act?" Riley asked. "Yeah, sure, I can be a bitch. I know I'm bitchy to you, but you started it. If you weren't such a jerk to me, I wouldn't have a problem with you."

"So I've heard," he said, remembering Riley's comment about him being a hot jerk earlier that night. Even now, OC knew he pissed Riley off by not giving in to what she wanted, which was to go home. Normally she was okay to be around if she was drunk.

"I call you by the nickname because it bothers you," OC admitted a minute later. "Why?"

"Why does it bother me?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, it's a harmless nickname. I wasn't calling you that originally to be mean. I continued calling you strawberry shortcake because you hate it, but at first I was just trying to be a little nicer."

"Whatever," Riley said.

"No really, I was. Why does it bother you? If I knew, maybe I wouldn't call you that anymore."

Riley sucked in a breath of air, wondering whether she should tell OC.

"My dad called me shortcake when I was little. A few years ago, when that cartoon girl, Strawberry Shortcake, came out, he added the strawberry to it because I had red hair." Riley paused, not sure if she wanted to continue. Just thinking about her dad right now was making her really sad. It was weird because sometimes she could go without crying for days, and other times, just thinking about him for a second would make her cry.

At this point, OC didn't say anything to interrupt because he sensed there was more to her story.

"He died this past June. Cancer."

OC was shocked. He had no idea Riley just lost her dad. Somehow, he didn't expect something like that. And now, OC was witnessing something he thought he would never see. Riley was crying. He didn't know she had any emotion besides her anger and attitude. But now she was actually crying.

"Riley, I'm sorry," OC said, now sitting down next to her on the bed. He put his arm around her in an attempt to comfort her.

"No, I'm sorry," Riley said, apologizing for crying. "It's just so hard. He was the one person in the family that really understood me. We were so close, and now I feel like I'm alone."

"Riley, I can't say I know how it feels, because I don't, but I am truly sorry though." OC wrapped her into a hug now and rubbed her back, trying to soothe her. A minute later, Riley pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"No wonder you think I'm so immature," Riley said.

"It's not immature to cry about losing someone," OC said, feeling sorry for everything bad he ever said about her. "I'm sorry I called you Strawberry Shortcake even though you asked me to stop."

"It's okay. You didn't know."

Now looking at the teen, OC saw something in Riley he never had before. She wasn't just some stupid kid that was following the guys around. She was just a girl trying so hard to fit in. She wanted friends and people that would make her happy again. Riley just wanted her life to go back to normal.

Suddenly, OC realized he was bringing his hand up to her face to brush some hair from her eyes. OC knew he didn't have feelings for her, but he felt so bad for her, he couldn't stop himself. _It must be the alcohol, _he thought.

Seconds later, Riley and OC were leaning toward each other and then began kissing. After a few seconds, they pulled away from each other.

"What are we doing?" Riley asked.

"I don't know," OC admitted. "I still don't like you."

"I still don't like you either."

"I'm just hot, right?" OC asked, smiling.

"Yeah, just hot. It ends there though," Riley said, smiling herself.

"I need a drink," OC said, getting up from the bed and grabbing the beer he brought.

Riley held out her hand like she wanted some.

"I don't think so," OC said. "You're still way to drunk for a beer."

* * *

Two hours later, Riley and OC were still sitting in his room. OC was pretty close to sober at this point, while Riley was definitely in the clear as far as needing emergency medical services, but she was still a little drunk.

"I'm gonna grab a couple beers. You're welcome to have one now if you want," OC offered.

"Sure," Riley said. "I need one if I'm going to be held hostage here anymore."

"Hey, we're having fun," OC said.

Riley just smiled. It was weird because they were almost acting like friends. For the past two hours they had been playing card games – everything from Go Fish to a sad attempt at Texas Hold 'Em. Besides the games, they talked a lot, and fought even more. It was different than their usual fighting though. They would banter and argue, especially about competition between Chicago and Boston sports teams, but it was more in fun.

OC came back minutes later with a handful of beers. Most of them were for him, because he was too sober to be sitting with Riley anymore and needed more alcohol in him. Over the next hour, Riley and OC continued with the talking and card games.

"Last beer," OC said. "Want to share?"

"Sure." As Riley picked up the beer to take a sip, she paused before drinking it. "I won't get like, Herpes of the mouth from this, will I?"

"If anything, I should be worried about getting Herpes of the mouth from you."

"Your reputation precedes you, Jack O'Callahan. I think I'm the one who should be concerned."

"You're the whore," he said, although he used a joking tone.

"Me? You're a man whore."

"You slept with _Silky_ and _Verchota_! They're my friends, but seriously, I'd get tested for everything if I were you."

"I don't have anything, Jack."

"Why'd you just call me Jack?"

"I don't know. I'm drunk?" Riley asked, wondering if that would be a good enough answer. She didn't know why she reverted to his first name.

"Seriously though Riley, I'd be careful about who you jump into bed with."

"You sound like Rizzo."

"Riley, you tried to sleep with Mac and Rammer too. Word gets around. I'm just saying you should be a little more careful."

"Thanks for the concern," Riley said sarcastically, handing OC the beer. He took a drink.

"Why do you think sleeping with so many people is cool?"

"Aren't you the hypocrite?" she shot back.

OC started laughing. "You get around more than I do."

"Wanna bet?" she asked.

"Riley, if you're going to sleep with multiple guys, at least do it because it's good sex," OC said, now handing her the beer. She took a drink and didn't respond.

"Riley, think about it this way. Every time you sleep with someone, you're taking a risk. Risk of STDs, risk of pregnancy, risk of whatever. If you're going to take that risk, shouldn't it at least be worth it?"

"I guess," Riley said, wondering why OC was giving her advice.

"But let me guess. You don't even know what good is yet, do you?"

Riley didn't answer because she didn't know. She only remembered having sex once, and it wasn't anything great.

"You have to get someone good. Someone good like me," OC said. "Not that I'm recommending anything like that."

"Aren't you the cocky one?" Riley commented, knowing OC must be really drunk to even joke about that. Then, "Who do you recommend then?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I don't know," OC said with a smile. "All I do know is that it's not gonna be me, because I still don't like you. Plus, you're a slut with multiple diseases now."

"And I hate you right back. You're a jack ass, and you're cocky, and arrogant, and a prick."

Suddenly, OC and Riley were having a yelling match. They shouted back and forth, calling each other names and saying things to degrade each other. By the end of their arguing match, they were inches apart, finishing their yelling. Then, suddenly, they were kissing. A fight followed by a passionate, full on kiss. Though they both wanted to stop, neither could. Their tongues danced around each others, exploring one another's mouth. This was the most passionate kiss Riley ever experienced, and although she still hated OC, she couldn't stop herself. The kiss was making her almost dizzy. Her head was spinning. _Or maybe it's the alcohol,_ Riley thought.

OC couldn't stop kissing Riley either. He still didn't like her, but their mini fight moments before really turned OC on. It was getting to the point of no return. He felt a stirring in him he knew would need to be taken care of somehow.

They each waited for the other to pull away, but both were too drunk to care they were with someone they hated. Finally, OC pulled away, looking down at Riley. "We really should stop before this goes any further."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Riley said agreeing as she looked up at OC.

A/N: Okay, that's all for now! Please, please, please review! I want to know what you're thinking. Good, bad, whatever. Hit that button below and tell me!


	23. Chapter 22: Just a Dream

NellieBly413672: Yeah, OC played the good guy in that chapter. Warning Riley about sleeping around…

Skyler1510: So glad you liked it and thank you so much for the review! Hope you like this chapter too.

dogdaysareover: Glad you liked it – I'm wondering what part you were waiting for specifically… this next one should be interesting. Thanks for the review!

LTJM: Glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing! OC was being a nice guy in that chapter. You'll see more of both sides of OC in the next few chapters. Thanks again for the review!

Peachy65: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the chapter – as for knowing when to stop though…

A/N: I loved reading the reviews for the last chapter. They all made me smile! Thanks again! This chapter starts in OC's POV, but when it gets to the first break, it's back to third person POV.

**Chapter 22: Just a Dream**

OC's POV

I woke up with a pounding headache and looked at the clock to notice it was just before eleven am. Not only did I have a headache, but I was also very confused. Immediately, I looked around my room for a sign of someone else being there, and I was relieved to be alone.

_My dream the night before was something else,_ I thought, not having a clue why I dreamt about having sex with Riley, of all people. _It was more like a nightmare,_ I thought. _But then again, it was hot sex, so maybe a nightmare isn't quite the word._ It was just hard to believe I dreamt that! The dream was not only hot, but very, very vivid. If I didn't know any better, I would have almost thought that it was real. I knew sleeping with Riley couldn't have happened for real though.

_Anyway, if it was real, she would still be here,_ I thought. _Right?_ I then wondered, almost doubting myself. _Yeah, there's no way I had sex with Riley. Besides that, there's no way it would have been hot sex. She's too inexperienced._

By the time I finally dragged myself out of bed and got ready for the day, I realized that Rizzo wasn't around. _He must have gotten up early to do some errands, _I thought, and decided to get going myself. I had laundry to do this weekend, and there was no time like the present.

After getting my clothes together I left my room, not bothering to bring anything to read while waiting for my laundry. I usually liked bringing a book or something down to pass the time, but I had too much of a hangover headache to read anything.

Silk, Rizzo, and Bah happened to be in the laundry room when I got down there anyway, so reading wouldn't have been accomplished had I brought something.

"There you are!" Silk said. "We were wondering about you last night."

"After you left with Riley, we weren't sure if you were coming back," Bah added.

"Oh," I responded. I couldn't really remember the previous night too well, which was weird because I didn't think I drank that much. I clearly remembered having to take care of Riley after the case race; I brought her back to my room, we talked a little, drank some more… but I couldn't remember what happened after that. Well, I remembered the kiss. The next thing I remembered was dreaming that I slept with Riley. Hell, I couldn't even remember taking her home.

"I didn't know you were planning on taking her home though," Rizzo said, almost as if reading my thoughts. "I hope she at least sobered up first. Herb would be pissed if she was drunk."

"Hey that's not even the worst part," Silk said, jumping in. "Instead of coming back to the party with us, you went out and picked up some girl!"

"I did?" I asked, not bothering to ask what happened with the girls that were at the party. Clearly Silk didn't get any action or he wouldn't have been upset about me picking someone up. _But picking someone up?_ _Why the hell don't I remember anything?_ I thought, not having any memory of bringing a girl home. Or even going somewhere to meet a girl for that matter.

"Well, you were having sex with _someone_ when I came home," Rizzo said. "I heard the moaning through the door, so I didn't bother walking in."

"Are you sure OC wasn't alone?" Bah asked laughing.

"That moaning was definitely coming from a girl," Rizzo said.

"Who was it OC?" Silk asked, smiling and hitting me in the shoulder.

"I don't remember," I said honestly. Inside, I was going crazy. I didn't know what happened the previous night, and I wasn't so sure I wanted to know either. I tried putting things together in my head, but nothing was adding up. The _only _thing I remembered was taking care of and then hanging out with Riley. And I wasn't _that_ drunk. I had no idea who I was with, but I _know_ I would _never_ have slept with Riley! Besides, if we did sleep together, she would have stayed until morning. _Yeah, she definitely would have stayed,_ I thought, though that didn't really explain anything_. _

_There's no way that wasn't just a dream. No way,_ I thought, still trying to convince myself. At this point, I wasn't sure about anything.

* * *

Taking a long walk home that morning, Riley had plenty of time to think things over. After she took a shower and left OC's room, she went to grab a coffee, hoping it would help her headache. If not, Riley didn't even know if she would be able to walk to Herb's. The sun was hurting her eyes.

Riley walked into the coffee shop on campus and ordered a large black coffee. She was glad that she was the only customer. The last thing she wanted was to be around people right now.

"Sounds like you had a rough night," the guy at the counter said, based on Riley ordering black coffee. Riley didn't respond but instead threw money down on the counter.

"You owe me five more cents," the guys said. Riley glared at him. She didn't have any more money. She just wanted the fucking coffee. "You know what, never mind. I got the five cents." The guy handed her the coffee a minute later, then watched the teen take a big gulp before he could even warn her it was hot.

The burning sensation down Riley's throat didn't bother her that much, but the bitter flavor did. She wasn't about to ask for cream or sugar though. She wanted to get out of there before 'coffee boy' started asking questions.

"Have a nice day," the guy told her as she left.

Riley still didn't remember the previous night that well, but certain things started coming back to her as she walked to Herb's. Bits and pieces of conversations, though more like arguments, were fuzzy, but there nonetheless. Riley remembered OC criticizing her for sleeping with Verchota and Silky, and she vaguely remembered kissing him, though she didn't know why. They then stopped, but a few seconds later, began again, this time not stopping.

_How could I have been so goddamn stupid?_ Riley wondered, kicking a small stone on the sidewalk with her foot. _That was probably just what the jerk wanted. Now he can tell all of his friends. I'm sure Silky and him will get a laugh out of this. Why, why, why? _the teenager thought. _Of all people, I had to go and sleep with Jack O'Callahan. _

Riley just hoped he wouldn't remember. She knew there was no evidence of her ever even being there, so if he was too drunk to remember, he would never know. Riley knew that wasn't likely though. For the first time, Riley actually felt guilty about getting drunk and having sex. Before it was no big deal. She knew people the guy's age did it all the time. One night stands were no big deal to them – if they liked someone, they slept together. Riley never imagined having sex with someone she hated though.

The worst part was that Riley knew everything OC said the previous night, of the things she could actually remember, was a lie. _It was probably all just to get into my pants. Hell, I bet he only let me join in the case race was because he was trying to set this up!_

* * *

Sunday evening, Mark and Emma had a date. They decided to get a bite to eat and then they were going bowling.

"I'll warn you right now – I cannot bowl without bumpers," Emma told Mark as they walked across the street from the restaurant to the bowling alley. "Every ball will be a gutter ball."

Mark laughed a little. "I'm sure that's not true."

"Oh it is," Emma said with a laugh.

"We'll get bumpers then, but only for the first game. I'm going to teach you how to bowl without bumpers."

"Good luck," Emma commented. "I think I'm beyond help."

The couple got bumpers for the first game like Mark promised, and then they went to pick out balls before heading to their lane.

Emma was going to go first.

"Teach away," she said, standing and ready for Mark to teach her.

Mark gave Emma some pointers and showed her how to hold and throw the ball. Emma took her turn and the ball almost went into the next lane.

Emma turned around just in time to see Mark shaking his head and laughing.

"Told you I'm beyond help."

"I didn't mean literally throw the ball," Mark teased her. After Emma's second turn, which was a little better than the first, Mark went.

He got a strike.

"Are you good at everything?" Emma asked, wrapping her arms around Mark.

"No, I'm not that good. That was just lucky."

"No, you're just being modest. You're good," Emma argued playfully.

"No, I swear it's luck." Mark pointed to the lane number. "Look, we're in lane ten. That's my hockey number, so it means I'll have some luck tonight."

"Maybe you should save some of that luck for later," Emma said suggestively.

"I guess I'll have to now," Mark said, giving Emma a quick kiss.

As the night went on, Emma did get a little better, which she attributed to getting 'warmed up'. Mark did win all of the games, but Emma came halfway close the last game. She got two strikes and three spares that game.

"It looks like your luck is rubbing off on me," Emma said.

After bowling, Mark and Emma decided to go back to Emma's apartment for a while to hang out. They sat on Emma's loveseat, half sitting sideways and facing each other just talking for a while about all different things, enjoying each other's company.

"So, when I went home for Thanksgiving my family was asking if there are any interesting men in my life," Emma began with a smile.

"And what did you tell them?" Mark asked, looking amused.

"I said there might be," Emma said, still smiling. "And they asked if by interesting I meant boyfriend material."

"And you said?" Mark asked.

"Maybe," Emma said with a smile. She then decided to be forward. "I'm okay with that idea."

"Just okay?" Mark asked, teasing her. He began playing with the hair that was in front of her left shoulder.

"Well," Emma started. Mark leaned closer to her and kissed her.

"What do you think now?" he asked after pulling away.

Emma smiled. "I think I like the idea even better." They leaned in once again and began kissing. A minute later, they pulled apart.

"I like the idea of being able to call you my girlfriend too," Mark said smiling.

"Boyfriend material it is then," Emma said, pulling Mark close to her and kissing him again. They made out for a while, but stopped before things went too far. They both thought taking things a little slower was better.

* * *

Monday morning, Riley was in the locker room after practice because Herb need her help with equipment stuff this week. The equipment manager had some family emergency and wasn't there. Riley had no idea what she was supposed to be doing with the equipment, but she was trying. Since the guys were playing away the next day, Riley needed to get their sticks after practice and load them up for the game.

"No one can hoard sticks in their lockers today," Riley announced. She knew the guys had sticks they really liked, and they usually kept them in their lockers overnight. When they had games though, all the sticks were kept together, so the guys weren't allowed to keep them in their lockers.

Unfortunately, the one guy she wanted to avoid was standing inches away from her.

"OC, I need your stick." After saying this, Riley instantly blushed. She just hoped no one would make a comment. If only she was that lucky.

"You can have my stick, Riley," Silk told her. "I know we've been there already, but what the hell, we can try again. You don't need _his_ stick."

"Shut up," Riley said, giving Silk a death glare while her face remained beat red. Riley also wondered how many people OC told about the other night. Since that night, Riley had done a lot of thinking, and tried to tell herself that maybe OC was just being nice, and maybe everything he said wasn't a lie. As long as OC wasn't rude or nasty to her, Riley decided she wouldn't be bitchy to him.

"Here ya go, Ri," OC said, handing her the stick without so much as a nasty look or mean tone or anything. Silky gave him a curious look.

"Thanks Ja- OC," she said, grabbing the stick quickly and moving on to the next guy she needed a hockey stick from. Based on OC's seemingly nice attitude, Riley thought that maybe he didn't tell anyone.

"Jack?" Silky asked, sounding surprised. "Why did Riley just call you Jack?"

"She called me OC," OC said.

"But she almost called you Jack. And Ri?" OC shrugged. "No Strawberry Shortcake?" OC shrugged again.

"What's going on?" Silk asked in an almost sing song voice. "Come on OC, you can tell me," Silk said, nudging him.

"Nothing's going on," OC grumbled.

"Something is. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't pick up some girl the other night. I'd say you did the nasty with Riley."

"I didn't sleep with her. We talked for a while, and we understand each other now. I'm not calling her shortcake anymore because she explained why she doesn't like it. End of story."

"Somehow I think you skipped the _climax_ of the story," Silky said, laughing hysterically at his own joke. He was laughing so much that he caught Riley's attention, which made him start laughing even more.

"Very funny, douche bag," OC commented, while noticing the look on Riley's face. She looked pissed.

Riley was pissed. _So much for OC not telling anyone,_ Riley thought. _So much for him having an ounce of niceness in his DNA._

When OC noticed Riley leaving the locker room ten minutes later, he ran out too to catch her. He really needed to talk to her.

"Riley, wait up!"

"I have nothing to say to you," she said angrily.

"Please wait," OC said, catching her arm as he neared her.

"What? You want to let me know that what we did was just a mistake? Well, I already know that!" Riley practically screamed.

"Riley, quiet down!" OC said, now knowing that the other night wasn't a dream. After trying to convince himself all weekend that it was a dream, he finally succeeded and came up with the reason as to why he would dream sleeping with Riley. OC told himself he dreamt that because they did so much talking and they did reach an understanding about each other.

Now, from Riley's actions, OC knew it hadn't been a dream. In a way, OC knew all along, but he just wanted there to be an alternate explanation.

"Who cares if your friends hear us? I know you already told them," Riley yelled.

"I haven't told anyone anything! I wasn't even sure anything happened!"

Riley gave OC an incredulous look. "Yeah, okay," she said, rolling her eyes. Clearly she didn't believe him.

"No, I just meant that I thought it might have been a dream or something. You were gone when I woke up, so I thought I dreamt it," OC said and shrugged.

"Dreamt it?" Riley asked, still not believing OC's story.

"I was more drunk than I thought, based on the hangover headache I had in the morning."

"Yeah, I know. And so was I, or trust me, nothing would have happened."

"You weren't mad about sleeping with anyone else," OC pointed out.

"That's because they're not jerks. They're my friends." Riley didn't let OC get a word in before continuing. He would have cleared her up on the thought they were her friends if he could have. "I have to go. I really don't need you to make me feel any worse."

"Riley, I'm sorry," OC said, though not entirely sure what he was apologizing for. He was trying to be nice, and he already apologized for his prior jerkiness.

"Sorry for what? Sorry for being a worthless prick, or sorry that you wasted a night with me? Wasted _the risk_ on me?" Riley asked bitterly, emphasizing OC's words from the other night.

OC didn't know how to respond. He remembered his conversation with Riley, and he remembered warning her about sleeping around. Now, because he slept with her, he looked like the hypocrite. OC's pause gave Riley a chance to continue.

"OC, I know you regret the other night. Let me guess, I was even worse than Silky made me out to be? But you know what? I don't care! Just because I'm not as good in bed as some fucking _porn star_ that's more up to your standards, doesn't mean you have to trash talk me to everyone else in the locker room. It's not like I _made_ you have sex with me. It was your fucking decision too, so if you thought I would be as bad as Silky said, then why the_ fuck_ did you sleep with me?"

OC was taken aback. _I didn't say a word to anyone else! And how the hell does she know Silky said she was bad in bed? Besides that, almost everyone's bad the first time, so what's the big deal?_ OC was livid now. Riley thought he was a jerk, yet Silk was the one that always started trashing Riley. Sure, he was nice to her face, but not when she wasn't around.

"I think you should check your sources," OC commented, anger creeping into his voice. "I didn't tell anyone anything because before the other night I really thought the whole thing was a dream. I figured I wouldn't sleep with someone I hated as much as you – so I wouldn't admit it to anyone."

"Then why was Silky laughing like an idiot a few minutes ago?" Riley asked, ignoring OC's angry tone. OC thought Riley sounded almost sad.

"Because he has the maturity of a five-year-old," OC responded lightly.

He meant for his comment to lighten the mood a little, but instead Riley began crying. OC was clueless as to why. The first time, they were both drunk so he could handle it, but now the water works were a little much.

"What's wrong?" he managed to ask.

"I'm a loser. I'm seventeen and naïve. You guys all see me like a little kid and nothing I do will change that. I have no friends here, and everyone I thought was my friend makes fun of me." Riley wiped her cheek and continued, sarcastically, "I bet I'm great locker room talk."

_Where is this coming from?_ OC wondered.

"The night after I slept with Silky I heard you two talking. Talking about how bad I was in bed. How inexperienced I was," Riley said, though her tears. Then she spoke in a bitter tone. "You just had to see what it was like, didn't you? You had to get in on the action. That way you be able to swap stories."

"Riley, that's not why I slept with you," OC said softly.

The teen wiped more tears from her face.

OC sighed and massaged his temples like he had a headache before continuing. "I never intended on having sex with you. "Ever," he added to emphasize the point. "When you told me about your dad, I felt bad for all the mean things I said to you. Then we started fighting again, and I think the combo of me feeling bad, the sexual tension, and that kiss - made me… us, rip each other's clothes off."

Now Riley smiled at OC's attempt at humor. From what she remembered, they did sort of rip each other's clothes off. And she could tell he was being honest.

OC added, "But I promise that I never told anyone and I never intended to sleep with you." Riley didn't respond and OC continued. "And for the record, you weren't as bad as Silky said."

Riley gave him a questioning look. She thought he was joking.

"Really, Riley. I mean, I'm not saying you were good, I've had better, but I've also had worse. Maybe you learned a thing or two from Verchota," OC said, trying to lighten the mood.

He managed to get a smile out of Riley and then she said, "I better go before Herb comes down here." As she turned around to leave, she stopped and added, "For the record, I still hate you."

"Right back at ya, Ri," OC said, playfully hitting her in the arm before she left.


	24. Chapter 23: The Enemy

NellieBly413672: Well, OC isn't going to stay nice, lol. What fun would that be? Haha Thanks for the review and hope you like this chapter!

dogdaysareover: Yeah, OC's starting to be nice… that doesn't mean things won't go back to the way they were though, lol. Thanks for the review and I hope you like the next chapter!

LTJM: Glad you liked the chapter and the part with Riley and OC. Thanks for reviewing!

A/N: So this chapter is pretty drama-y… I would love to hear thoughts on what you are thinking will happen! Or even comments on what you want to happen. I can't make any promises, because I have the story pretty planned out (except the ending, lol), but if there's something you want to happen and I can work it in I will!

**Chapter 23: The Enemy**

Over the week following the eventful night of the case race, things were going pretty well for everyone. Mark and Emma went out a couple times that week and their relationship seemed to be moving along at a nice pace. Riley was in a fairly good mood all week too. She attributed it to her talk with OC. At first she really regretted sleeping with him, but now she didn't really have feelings either way. Riley was glad that they talked and reached an understanding. It was also refreshing to see that OC wasn't as big of a jerk as she originally thought. She knew in a way he respected her because he didn't talk trash about her, and she respected him more for it as well.

When Riley walked into the arena the following Monday morning, she ran into an unfamiliar face. Literally.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," a guy said, looking down at the teen.

"That's alright. Can I help you with something?" she asked. She knew no one else was usually around as early in the morning as the guys were for practice, so she didn't know why this guy was there. Maybe he was lost.

"I'm looking for Herb Brook's office. But I think I know where to find it. Thanks though," he said walking away.

"Why are you looking for Herb?" Riley wondered.

"Is it any of your business?" he asked, obviously writing Riley off as a kid.

"It might be," Riley said. Then, with a little attitude, she added, "I work for him."

"_You_? Work for him?" the guy responded, with a laugh evident in his voice. She didn't like this guy's attitude. Once the guy could tell she was serious, he looked apologetic.

"Sorry, I thought you were a little young to be working for him. You look – a little young. No offense," he added, smiling.

"For your information," Riley replied, not smiling back, "I'm not that young. And I'm not only working for him, but I'm also his niece, so you better be nice to me."

"Okay," the guy said, half laughing, not taking Riley seriously at all. "My name's Tim. I'm here to practice with the team for the week. You know, see how it goes. Working for a spot on the Olympic Team."

"What?" Riley replied, slightly taken aback.

"Oh, so you didn't know? He must have only told the _important_ employees," he said with a smirk.

Riley glared at Tim. He was pissing her off.

"I have to get up there," he said. "I don't want to be late on my first day."

As Tim left, Riley couldn't shake the surprise. She had no idea Herb was bringing someone else in for the team. _Why was he doing it now?_ she wondered. _The Olympics were only a couple months away. I wonder what the guy's are gonna think?_

* * *

By Wednesday, the guys were all in a bad mood and Riley could tell they were a little mad at her too. Even OC was being a jerk again, and she thought he was past that. They joked around more since talking, and even their arguments were more in fun than serious. That Wednesday morning however; Riley walked in the arena and noticed OC walking up behind her. She waited a second to hold the door open for OC. He ignored Riley's presence, and Riley jokingly commented, "You're welcome."

"If I was thankful I would have said thanks. I can open the door myself," OC grumbled.

"Well it looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Riley tried joking again. When OC didn't answer, Riley added, "Or maybe you just had bad sex last night."

OC shot her a death glare and replied, "Why don't you just shut up and leave me alone?"

Riley was surprised at OC's comment. Actually, it was the tone of his voice she was surprised at. She could tell he was totally serious. He really wanted her to leave him alone.

"Fine, ass," Riley shot back, leaving him alone.

By the end of practice, Riley knew why everyone was being short with her. They all thought she knew about Herb bringing Tim in, and Riley figured that was why tensions were so high. She was pissed that they assumed she knew Herb was bringing Tim in, and as far as she was concerned, what did it even matter if she had known. It wasn't like she could have done anything about it. Warning the guys wouldn't have helped either.

After practice that day, Riley came into the locker room, unbeknownst to the guys. Jimmy was on his way out to meet with Herb.

"I bet he wants to talk about Riley again. This time, if he asks, I should just tell him that she does need help," Jimmy said.

"How about telling him to send her back to Chicago?" Verchota joked. "Where her friends are."

"How can someone like her even have friends?" Mac wondered, laughing.

"The funniest thing is that she thinks we're her friends," Pav said.

"She doesn't have to leave Minnesota," Mark commented. "Just not coming to annoy us at practice would be good enough for me."

"Shit," Jimmy said aloud, finding Riley standing near the locker room doorway.

"I'm so glad I know what everyone really thinks of me now," Riley said bitterly, turning to leave the locker room.

"Shit," Jimmy said again. "I almost feel a little bad."

"Don't," OC said, "she'll get over it."

"That's rough to hear though," Rammer said.

"How were we supposed to know she was in here?" Mac commented.

* * *

Jimmy made it up to Herb's office and sat down across from his desk. "I wanted to ask you a favor, Jim," he began. "Riley's birthday is Friday, and I was hoping you boys could throw her a party."

"A party?" Jimmy asked, sounding surprised.

"Well, I know you're all friends, and I know she won't tell you it's her birthday, but it would mean a lot to her if someone did something special for her. Her dad used to take her to a Blackhawks game every year for her birthday, and I know this year will be tough on her. Her mom has already told me that Riley won't want to do anything special with her."

"Uh," Jimmy began, not knowing what to say. He didn't want to throw a party, and he knew the guys wouldn't want to either. But how could he say no?

"You don't have to do anything elaborate, but just invite her out or something and wish a happy birthday."

Jimmy told Herb he would make sure the team did something for her, and made his way back to his room. He ran into some of the team on the way and explained the situation.

"You think she's even going to want to hang out with us anymore?" Mark asked. "After her overhearing us in the locker room today?"

"I don't know. Probably not. But we could at least try. I still feel really bad about her hearing all of that, and this might help."

"Might help you feel better, or her feel better?" Rammer asked.

"Both," Jimmy admitted.

"Well, at least it'll give us an excuse to have a party. If we're smashed, we won't even know we're celebrating her birthday," Silky said with a smirk.

* * *

On Friday, it was Riley's birthday and that night she agreed to come over for her party. She forgave the guys for talking about her in the locker room. Riley knew they were stressed out and were taking it out on her. No one corrected her and told her they talked about her often. If she wanted to believe they all liked her, that was fine with them.

"Guess what the best part about today is?" she asked Silky shortly after she arrived at the dorms.

"What?" he asked, beer in hand.

"I'm legal," she said, with a smile, then took the beer from him and had a sip.

"You're legal for more than drinking," Silk said with a grin, though he had no intentions on going down that road again – legal or not.

"That's what I meant," she responded with a wink, handing the beer back to Silky. She made her way over to the alcohol table to get her own drink. "Oh my God. You brought tequila?" Riley asked Emma, who was standing by the bottle. Riley sounded excited.

"Yeah, for me and my friends," she responded bitterly. Emma thought it was stupid that they were celebrating Riley's birthday. She would have never come if she knew that. Mark and Bah both just said they were having a party.

"Well, it's my birthday, so I'm having some too," Riley said.

Emma glared at her as Kristen came over to where the two girls were standing. "Tequila!" Kristen said. "And I wasn't planning on getting drunk tonight," she added, laughing.

Everyone was having a good time at the party, regardless of the party technically being for Riley, but the mood changed after a familiar, but uninvited face showed up.

"Hey Tim, what are you do doing here?" Mac asked, trying to hide the surprise and less than thrilled tone from his voice.

"Riley invited me," he answered.

"She did?" OC said, more sounding like he wasn't surprised at all than as a question.

"Well, come on in and have a drink," Mac said awkwardly.

In all honesty, no one wanted Tim at the party. The guys had no idea why Riley invited him either. It wasn't like he would have even known about the party unless Riley told him, so she couldn't have felt bad that he wasn't invited. Tim wasn't living in the dorms yet either, so he wouldn't have found out about the party on his own.

Was Riley trying to get back at them for talking about her in the locker room even though she said she forgave them? She knew the guys didn't like Tim very much, even the guys that used to be friends with him at the U, so that was the only plausible reason. Well, no one came out and said they didn't like Tim, but how could Riley not know?

Mac decided to ask Riley himself and found her getting a drink. It seemed that every time he saw her that night she was at the drink table.

"Hey Riley."

"Hey Mac. Want a drink?"

"No, I'm good right now. I wanted to ask why you invited Tim tonight."

Riley shrugged. "Why not?"

"Well, not everyone gets along with him that well. The way Herb brought him in wasn't right."

"That's a stupid reason not to get along with someone," Riley said, taking Mac's second statement as the reason the guys didn't get along with Tim. "Besides, it's not my fault Herb brought him in. It's not Tim's fault either, so don't take it out on him."

"Well, Riley, it would have been nice to ask us if we minded you inviting him first," Mac told her.

"It's_ my_ party," Riley said. "It's not the team's party. I can invite whoever I want."

"Okay then," Mac said, walking away. He headed back over to where OC and Rammer were standing.

"So, she thinks that just because the party is _for_ her, it's _her_ party and invited him because she could."

"Kick him out," OC said, as if it was no big deal.

"You," Mac said. "You're the one that wants him to leave."

"Last time I checked, so did you," OC responded in an argumentative tone.

"Guys, we can handle him for one night," Rammer said, trying to be diplomatic. "We've handled him at practice so far."

* * *

As the night went on, the guys became more annoyed that Tim was there. He kept trying to immerse himself in conversations that he wasn't a part of. After spending several months together, the guys had inside jokes between each other, and Tim was trying to catch on. In a way, it was like Riley when she was first trying to fit in, but this was much worse. Riley could be easily ignored. Tim couldn't.

It wasn't that the guys didn't like him as a person, but he was trying to take away something from them, and the team didn't want that. They wanted the team that had been together for the last several months to go to the Olympics together. Harrer wasn't a part of their team, and he would never be. He shouldn't have the chance to take someone else's spot.

The girls at the party also noticed that the guys weren't too happy about Tim being there. Gayle, Kristen, and Emma were talking in a group about the situation.

"Bah's been testy all week. I feel like I'm walking on eggshells with him," Kristen said.

"Tell me about it," Gayle jumped in. "Now I know how Buzz feels when I'm PMSing. Except this week has been worse than any of my mood swings," she added with a laugh.

"Mark tries not to talk about it," Emma said. "I can tell something is bothering him, but he always says he'd rather not think about it when we're together, and that he'd rather focus on us."

"That's sweet," Gayle said. "Buzz used to be like that. He always used to shelter me from his feelings… then we got married," Gayle said and laughed.

"I'm even getting the impression this whole situation is making the guys take things out on each other," Kristen said. "Bah was complaining about Riley inviting Tim earlier and-"

"Are you talking about me?" Bah asked, coming up behind his girlfriend and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Only good things," Kristen said with a smile, but sharing a look with Gayle and Emma that said otherwise.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tim was getting pretty cozy with Riley. They were sitting on chairs in the corner of the room, and away from everyone else, talking and drinking.

"I feel like you're the only one who cares whether I'm here," a semi-drunk Tim told her as they were sharing a drink. "Why did you invite me?"

"Because I saw no reason not to. I'll admit, when I ran into that day, I hated you – but now, I don't."

"You don't," Tim stated, repeating Riley's words.

"I don't know. Sometimes I get the impression that I don't really fit in with the guys. You don't either, no offense. We could not fit in together."

"Well, I'll fit in eventually," Tim said. He knew the guys were giving him a hard time because he hadn't been with them as much. Tim also had the feeling that by next week things would start to change. He didn't blame the guys, because if he were in their shoes he knew he would be doing the same thing. At least he could hang out with Riley until his team came around. He didn't mind hanging around her, and besides, Tim thought, _maybe she'll put in a good word for me. As Herb's niece, she has to have some influence on his decisions._

"Don't count on it," Riley mumbled, referring to Tim's comment about fitting in. Tim didn't hear her.

"You're cute," Tim said a minute later, testing the waters.

"I'm legal," Riley responded, making it sound like an offer.

"Are you coming onto me?"

"Maybe," Riley said. After the whole OC fiasco, she promised herself she wouldn't let it happen again. 'It' meaning getting drunk and sleeping with someone for no reason other than to sleep with them, but she wanted to make an exception. It was her birthday. She hated the thought of being alone on her birthday. Originally, Riley was hoping Silky or Mac, or really anyone on the team, would want to be with her on her special day, but after Tim showed up, the guys got mad, and now she knew that wasn't happening. Not that she was that upset, because after all, Tim was there because of her. But now since he was there, she might as well take advantage of them both being alone.

Riley understood why the guys didn't like Tim. He was coming in, trying to take a spot on the team. It wasn't fair – but she felt sort of bad for Tim though too. None of this was his fault, yet the guys were treating him like it was. Besides, when Riley actually talked to him, she realized he wasn't that bad.

* * *

While Riley and Tim were getting cozy, OC noticed and became furious.

"I warned her about sleeping around. She doesn't listen to anything because she's stubborn and does whatever she wants," OC complained to no one unparticular.

"How do you know anything's gonna happen?" Pav wondered.

OC looked at him with raised eyebrows. "This is Riley we're talking about. That's what she does. She gets drunk and sleeps with the first person that gives her attention."

"Why do you care so much, OC?" Mac wondered. "I thought you two hated each other."

"No, they 'understand' each other now," Verchota laughed. "Whatever that means."

"I still believe the translation of that is, 'I fucked her' even though OC won't admit it," Silky said, laughing.

"I'm right here," OC reminded him.

"Look, man, just admit it. You had sex with Riley. It's okay. We did it too," Silky commented about himself and the possibility of Verchota. "Nothing to be ashamed of."

"And I made out with her. And so did Rammer," Mac added, as if that made things better.

"Fine, whatever. I slept with her," OC said, not caring who knew anymore. He was pissed off.

"I knew it!" Silky exclaimed.

Emma walked over to the group. "Have you guys seen Mark?" Then, before anyone answered she asked Silky, "Why does OC have a look that could kill on his face?"

"Because the green eyes monster is getting the best of him," Silky stated. Emma gave Silky a curious look.

"OC's jealous," Verchota clarified.

"I know what the green eyed monster is Verchota," Emma said, rolling her eyes. "But who is he jealous of?"

"I'm not jealous. I'm pissed off," OC spat.

Silky whispered, though not so quietly, "OC's jealous because Tim's over there putting the moves on Riley. OC lives by the rule 'bros before hos', and apparently Tim never got the message," Silky concluded.

Emma look confused for a minute, letting the words sink in. _Wait, they didn't_ – she didn't even finish the thought before looking at Silky. He knew what she was thinking, and Emma needed confirmation.

"Yep. He fucked her," Silky said. OC shot his friend a death glare just as Bah walked up to the group.

"Why?" Emma asked, eyes wide. Her question was more pointed at OC.

"Because I wanted to," OC said, sick of trying to defend himself. He didn't need to explain to anyone, least of all Emma, why he didn't. OC just didn't care anymore either. If Riley wanted to sleep around, he would let her.

"I can't believe you slept with her!" Emma said, shocked. Verchota and Mac shared a glance at each other as they noticed Emma looked almost hurt.

"Uh, you wanted to know where Mark was, right?" Mac asked, trying to change back to the original subject, as well as to kind of remind Emma she had a boyfriend and should no longer care what OC did.

"No. I have to go. If you see him, tell him I had to leave."

"Emma, wait!" Bah said, knowing that if his best friend left now, things were sure to end badly. He knew she was pissed, and he knew why. But he was afraid that Mark wouldn't be so understanding when he found out. And Bah knew he would find out.

* * *

OC wasn't really sure what made him more pissed off. The fact that Riley just completely ignored everything he told her that night or that she was with Tim Harrer, the (for all intents and purposes) enemy. _How could she sleep with someone trying to take someone's spot on the team? _OC wondered. _It's like she has no respect for us at all. If 'we're all friends' like she thinks, she wouldn't be doing this!_

* * *

A while later, Riley disappeared from the party, and the guys noticed Tim had too. At this point, no one cared what happened to Riley. They knew if she left with Tim she was going to his apartment, wherever that was, but no one cared. Aside from the fact that many of the guys were too pissed off at the whole situation to care about Riley, many were too drunk to care all that much anyway.

OC was by far the most upset about Riley leaving though, until Rizzo found out. This was mainly because Rizzo thought he was going to be the one cut.

"After everything I did to help her out," an angry Rizzo said after OC told him the story of the night's events when they were in their dorm room after the party. "Covering for her by calling Herb all those times she was too drunk to go home, not saying anything when she hooked up with Silky, Mac, Rammer, and Verchota – I can't believe she left with Tim!" Rizzo didn't say anything about OC hooking up with her, because OC kept that part a secret, mostly for the sake of his and Rizzo's friendship.

"Everything will turn out okay, Riz," OC said, trying to keep Rizzo calm. His friend hardly ever got angry.

"If I go home, this is on her," Rizzo said bitterly.

"For as mad as I am at her, it won't be her fault," OC pointed out, trying to keep Rizzo calm. It didn't work.

"whose side are you on?" Rizzo asked pointedly.

"Rizzo, you know I'm on your side."

"You seem to be standing up a lot more for Riley lately." Rizzo paused and then added, "Sometimes I almost think Silky was right."

"Right about what?"

"You sleeping with her," Rizzo said.

"So what if he is?"

"Are you admitting it?"

"Look Rizzo, sometimes things just happen," OC said, trailing off. He knew Rizzo would be mad, but mainly because it was the principle of the whole thing. The only reason why Rizzo had a problem with the guys hooking up with her was because he knew the consequences could be really bad if Herb found out.

"I don't believe you!" Rizzo said, now even more angry sounding. As OC and Rizzo continued arguing, two other teammates down the hall were arguing as well.

* * *

"So what? You're telling me that OC and Riley slept together, Emma found out, and she got mad?" Mark asked Bah, sounding angry and hurt.

"I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't talk to me. She was pissed because she thought I already knew and kept it from her."

"She shouldn't care what OC did anyway!" Mark yelled.

"I know, but Emma's always been a little overdramatic. She's stubborn and when she gets mad she tends to blow things out of proportion."

"If she cares about me, why does she also care about OC? I know this isn't about some overwhelming concern she has for Riley," Mark said, knowing Emma couldn't stand Riley.

"Why don't you talk to her?" suggested Bah.

"I'm not asking her why she's jealous of Riley for sleeping with OC, the guy she _used_ to like! At least, it's supposedly past tense. Now, I'm not so sure," Mark said, bitterly.

Bah hung his head and shook it, knowing there would be no way to diffuse this situation. Even worse was that he was now stuck in the middle and Mark was not only mad at Emma, but at him as well.


	25. Chapter 24: Life Of My Own

NellieBly413672: Thanks for the review! Glad you loved it, and all the drama, lol. Hope you like this chapter too. There's even more drama to come!

dogdaysareover: Yeah, surprise! Lol Thanks for the review and hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

A/N: Sorry this chapter is kind of short. I had writer's block and couldn't add much more, but I really wanted to get it posted, because it's been over a week… I hope you all enjoy. Please review!

**Chapter 24: Life Of My Own**

By the Monday following Riley's birthday, the 21 teammates were still somewhat pissed off at each other, at Tim, at Riley, and probably most of all, at Herb.

"OC, are you happy now?" Mark asked bitterly in the locker room before practice.

_Here we go,_ thought Bah. Now Mark was taking his trouble with Emma out on OC. As far as Bah knew, Mark didn't talk to Emma yet, and from his friend's comment, Bah was assuming he was correct.

"Happy about what?" OC asked, sounding confused.

"Well, once again you succeed in getting the girl's attention."

"What's that supposed to mean?" OC asked, sounding angry.

"You know what I mean! Emma ran off because you just had to brag about sleeping with Riley to make her jealous."

"Don't take this out on me!" OC half yelled. "It was Silky who told her."

Mark glared at Silky. Silky held his hands up in his defense and responded, "It's not my fault your girl still has the hots for OC." Following that, petty arguments began to ensue.

Jimmy stepped into the middle of the locker room and bellowed, "That's enough!" The guys all stopped arguing and looked at him. "I'm sick of the fighting. We're teammates. We can't let some girl, or girls, or prospective teammate, or anyone else destroy us and what we've worked for. After practice I want everyone in my room! We're having a team meeting. Pass the word onto the guys that are not here yet, except Tim. Since he's clearly part of the problem, we need to work it out without him around."

Everyone agreed to the team meeting and promised to show up. Jimmy was usually so quiet, it was surprising that he was the one who stepped up, because normally Rizzo did, but everyone was glad someone did no matter who it was.

After practice, on the way to Jimmy's room for the meeting, Rizzo and OC ran into one person they didn't particularly want to see, and that was Riley.

"Hey guys!" she said cheerfully. "Craig gave me some work to do today, so I couldn't make it down after practice." Rizzo and OC shared a look. The reason for the 'work' Craig gave her was so that the guys could be alone. They didn't explain anything to Craig, other than they wanted to be without interruptions in the locker room that day.

"Hey," both guys mumbled.

"Why so grumpy? I know it's Monday, but practice wasn't that long today." Neither hockey player answered her, so the girl sort of changed the subject. "Thanks again for my party, I had a lot of fun."

Rizzo rolled his eyes but didn't say anything and OC mumbled "I bet you had fun. You usually do."

"What was that, OC?" Riley asked. She hadn't heard him, but from the way he mumbled his words, she almost thought it wasn't meant to be heard.

"Never mind."

"Rizzo, you played well in practice today," Riley said, changing the subject once again, thinking the guys seemed to be upset with her for some reason.

"Not that you care," Rizzo mumbled, but clear enough for Riley to hear it. She gave him a funny look. "Don't pretend you care, Riley. As long as you're getting some with someone, you don't care about anyone on this team."

Riley looked shocked. She didn't get why Rizzo was mad at her.

"You're a slut, Riley," Rizzo told her bitterly. "I never really liked you, but I tried for the past several months. I tried because I thought you might need a friend. But since you don't care about me, or this team, I'll make it known I don't care about you either."

"Rizzo," Riley began, unsure of where to go with this. "I do care about you guys. You think because I invited Tim I care about him more?" She didn't understand what the big deal was. She was just trying to be nice by inviting Tim – Riley didn't know it would cause such sore feelings.

"This isn't just about inviting Tim to the party." Rizzo then continued. "If I wasn't already afraid of losing my spot on this team, I would tell Herb just how much you need help."

"Rizzo, maybe you should go, I'll take it from here," OC, who had previously been pretty quiet, said. OC was starting to think Rizzo might go too far.

"One more thing," Rizzo said. "Riley, I really am disgusted with you." With that, Rizzo left.

"What's his problem?" Riley asked, sounding totally clueless. OC was going to try his hardest to be nice about this, but now that was out the window.

"Riley, I'm so sick of you playing dumb!" OC shouted. "You know exactly what this is about. You think you can sleep with whoever you want. At first, I was concerned. I realized why you are the way you are, and I was concerned about you. I felt sorry for you because your dad died. After the other night though, I don't care anymore."

"Is this about Tim?" Riley asked.

"I don't want an explanation, so don't bother with one. Clearly you don't care what anyone thinks of you anyway."

"OC-" Riley began.

"No, let me finish," OC said, very angry. "You think we're all your friends. Friendship is a two way street though. If you wanted to be our friends, you would have never slept with that clown. And since you don't care about being our friends, I just thought I'd let you in on a little secret. None of us ever liked you to begin with. We pretended all along, because you were Herb's niece. The truth is, we hate you being here, and now it's even worse!"

"How can you say that?" Riley asked, ready to cry.

"Riley, wake up! Your dad is dead. He's not coming back – so get over it! You're not going to be able to hide from the truth by sleeping with all different guys forever."

With that, OC now stormed off. He needed to get to Jimmy's for the team meeting.

This left Riley standing in the hallway, now in tears. She didn't know what to think. The more she thought about it, the more it made her want to cry. Riley knew her dad was dead. She thought about him every day. The guys didn't want her around, but it wasn't like she wanted to be there in the first place!

Riley sank into the floor against the wall and hugged her knees, burying her face. She couldn't even justify OC's words by saying he was just upset, because she could tell he was totally serious. No one liked her! She had no friends here to begin with and now she had 21 enemies.

_I wish my dad was here,_ Riley thought, crying harder. The teenager felt so alone – she felt like she had no one. _I almost wish I could just die right now_, she thought. _It's not like anyone would care anyway. My mother doesn't give a shit, my brother and sister wouldn't know the difference, the guys would probably be happy because I wouldn't be around to bother them anymore. _Riley thought back to the morning after her party, regretting everything she did.

The morning after her birthday, Riley woke up next to Tim, barely able to remember the previous night. After they left the party, they smoked some pot, compliments of Tim, and drank some more. Riley didn't really want to sleep with him, but at the same time, she wanted to be with someone, so she did.

When she woke up and found herself with Tim, she was mortified. Riley couldn't believe she actually let it happen, and she felt so guilty. She hadn't felt that bad after waking up with anyone else, not even OC. Riley hoped the guys never found out, but she was pretty sure they would. Tim would obviously say something – he was a guy after all.

The night before, Tim kept telling her he wanted to fit in with the guys on the team. S_leeping with me, the team whore, was definitely one way to do it,_ Riley thought, disgusted with herself.

She pulled a familiar piece of paper from her jean pocket and tried to read it through her blurry, teary, vision. _Dad would be so disappointed in me, _Riley thought, reading that she should make him proud and never live with regrets. _I really screwed up this time._ Riley wiped her eyes and willed herself not to cry anymore. _I won't feel sorry for myself!_ she thought. Riley knew she brought all of this drama with the team on herself. Now she had to find a way to fix it. _Or at least fix myself, _she thought, thinking her relationship with the guys was probably beyond repair.

* * *

That afternoon, once all of the guys were in Jimmy's room, he called the meeting to order. "Okay guys, clearly we have some issues to work out. Who has something they want to say?"

After a minute of silence, OC spoke up. "I put Riley in her place today. I might have been a little harsh, but I said what she needed to hear."

"Will she say anything to Herb?" Pav asked.

"No," OC said. "She's the one at fault, not us."

"This isn't all her fault," Mac said. "I'm not trying to stick up for her, but Tim being here started causing issues before the night at the party."

"You're right, but if Riley wouldn't have invited him to the party, we'd be a lot better off," Mark said, dully.

"Magic," OC began. "I'm sorry Emma found out about me and Riley and got mad. But I wasn't trying to start anything. I don't like her like that."

"I know, man. Sorry I took it out on you. And you too, Silk. I'm just pissed because I really like her. I don't think she likes me as much."

"Have you talked to her?" Buzz asked. Mark shook his head.

"She won't talk to me about this if that's any consolation," Bah said.

The guys went on to discuss some more, and came up with the conclusion that they had to talk to Herb. They also concluded that this was all their coach's fault in a way. If Tim never came in, most of the issues that developed over the past few days would have never come up in the first place. After their meeting, they decided to rest up and hang out as a team before leaving for Milwaukeethe next morning.

* * *

The next morning, the guys were getting their stuff together and met to wait for the bus. Everyone seemed to be there, except one person – Riley. She always arrived with Herb, so it was weird that she wasn't around.

"Where's Riley this morning?" Mac asked Herb once everyone began getting on the bus.

"She's not feeling well. It seems she came down with something," Herb said vaguely. "She thought it would be best if she stayed back."

Mac looked at OC and Bah, who happened to be standing near him, and they all shared a look that wondered what the real story was. They also wondered how much Herb knew about the whole situation. Once the three guys were on the bus and out of Herb's ear shot, Mac asked them if they thought Herb was serious about Riley being sick.

"I don't know man," OC said. "Maybe she's faking. After all, I wouldn't want to be with us right now."

"Well, we got our wish," Bah said. "She's not joining us."

"Yeah, but I feel bad," OC said. "I feel like I'm probably the reason she's 'sick'."

"OC, don't feel bad," Mac said. "What kind of baby pulls the 'I'm sick' card? Besides, she's probably just really pissed, not hurt or upset."

"Way to run away from the problem," Verchota spoke up, having heard about Riley Everyone soon knew about Riley's sudden illness, and although curious at first, they all quickly forgot about her. By the time they got to Milwaukee, they didn't care anymore and her named wasn't mentioned the rest of the trip.

* * *

The game against the NHL All-Stars went well and ended with a win for the US team. Among the goal scorers was Tim. The guys were happy to get the goal and to go on to win the game, but at the same time, they wished it was someone else who score the goal. The better Tim played, the harder it would be to convince Herb he shouldn't be there.

After the game as most of the guys were getting on the bus, OC, Rizzo, Mac, and Mark decided to take their chance to talk to Herb. They made it clear to him that they were a family, and they didn't want o go to the Olympics any other way. Herb promised to send Tim home, and the guys got onto the busy feeling satisfied and relieved that everything was going to work out.

* * *

Meanwhile, Riley was with her mom at the mall. Her mom was going Christmas shopping for Erin and Kyle, so Riley decided to join her. Riley insisted she felt much better than she did earlier. Her mom wouldn't have been her first choice on a person to go shopping with, but Riley really needed to get out of the house and think about something other than what she was going to do about the team. Thinking about it was what made her feel sick.

She knew she needed the time away from them, but she was unsure of how long. Riley didn't know how to tell Herb either, which was another problem. She couldn't tell him even part of the truth, because he would want the whole story, and she obviously couldn't give him the whole story. Riley didn't know what she could tell him to get out of practice though. She actually wasn't sure if she ever wanted to go back and face the guys again. Not only did Riley regret letting anything happen with Tim, she also felt bad. Rizzo was right, she was a slut and sleeping with Tim showed she didn't care about the guys on the team. Riley did care though, she just made a mistake. Aside from all of that, Riley didn't know if she could face the guys again because she was ashamed and embarrassed. It was no wonder no one liked her – she didn't treat herself with respect that warranted being liked.

"I'm surprised you were too sick to go with the team, Riley," Mary told her.

"I just wasn't feeling good at all," Riley said quietly.

"Are you sure something else isn't going on?" her mom asked pointedly.

"Like what?" Riley asked innocently.

"I don't know. It just seems like something is bothering you."

"Well, nothing's going on," Riley said.

"Riley, you can talk to me you know," Mary tried.

"No mom, I can't."

"You used to talk to me all the time," Mary said hesitantly, hoping not to set Riley off. She never knew what would make her daughter angry anymore. Today however, Mary noticed that Riley seemed to be almost sad. It wasn't the sadness she saw in her daughter's eyes every day since Dan died, but a different sadness. One that told Mary something serious was going on.

"I can't tell you," Riley said, getting annoyed. The truth was, she didn't know how to tell her mom. Riley wanted too, because deep down, she knew her mom would give her advice, after getting over the disappointment in Riley, but the teen just couldn't admit what she had done.

"Riley, you can tell me," Mary said, comforting. "Is this about someone on the team?"

"It's about the team in general," Riley admitted. Before her mom could ask anything else, Riley added, "I don't know if I can help out anymore."

"Why not, Riley? You love working with them."

"I know, but I can't. I just need a break," Riley said.

Mary wanted to press her daughter for more details, but she knew Riley would get mad. She just hoped that when Riley wanted to talk, she would. Mary knew there was something going on.

"Okay, but if there's anything you want to talk about later, you can tell me," Mary said with an encouraging smile. Riley smiled back, thankful her mom didn't force her to talk.

* * *

When Herb arrived back to the Brooks' house late that evening, Riley was back from shopping and sitting in the living room.

"How was the game?" Riley asked, looking up from a magazine.

"We won. Played well. I sent Tim home."

"You sent him home?" Riley asked, surprised. In the hour after Riley got home from the mall, she had been trying to come up with a plan to get Tim sent home. Riley thought that maybe if she talked Herb into sending Tim home, the guys would forgive her. She was also it would help in being able to forgive herself.

"It was time," was Herb's only reply. "Are you feeling well enough to come to practice tomorrow?"

"Uh, I don't know," Riley said. She didn't want to face the guys because she knew they would still be pissed off. "I feel a little better, but I still feel a little nauseous.

"Well, I don't want anyone on the team getting sick, so maybe you should take a few days off. It'll give you time to get some Christmas stuff done anyway."

"Are you sure?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, sure," Herb replied with a shrug, as if saying 'why not', and then he left the room.

Riley was secretly relieved she didn't have to see the guys yet. She was also glad she didn't have to ask Herb for time off. She did feel nauseous when she thought about the guys, so it wasn't stretching the truth too much to say she felt sick.

* * *

After Mark got back from Milwaukee that night, he decided to stop over and see Emma. He was still pretty mad about the whole situation, but he knew he needed to talk to her. Somehow he didn't think she would try to contact him.

At first, he thought she wasn't home because it took her so long to answer the door. She opened it just as Mark began walking away.

"Hey – where are going?" Emma asked, smiling as she got Mark to turn around. "Pulling a prank on me?"

"I thought you weren't home," her boyfriend answered.

"Well, here I am," she said. Mark noticed she sounded like nothing was wrong. _I know that she knows that I know about what happened at the party, _Mark thought. Emma pretending nothing was going on was making things worse. It was making Mark more upset.

"We need to talk," Mark said seriously.

"About what?" Emma asked.

"You know about what," Mark said, his voice almost sarcastic. "And I know you know because we haven't talked since it happened."

"I've been busy, Mark."

"It's funny because you were never too busy to call before."

"Well, I'm sorry that my life doesn't revolve around you," Emma snapped. "I can't check in with you everyday Mark!"

"I never asked you to do that!" Mark yelled. "But I know why you haven't talked to me. You could at least be honest."

"Look, Mark – I haven't talked to you because I don't know what to tell you, okay."

"Well, why don't you start off by telling me why you're so jealous of Riley? You assured me you were over OC when we started dating. Why did you lie about that?"

"I didn't! I was over him!" Emma yelled. With their yelling match getting progressively louder, an old woman stuck her head out of an apartment door down the hall and glared at them.

"I have to go," Mark said, mad that Emma was being so stubborn and lying to his face. If she was really over OC, she wouldn't have reacted to him sleeping with Riley the way she did.

"Fine, go ahead," Emma said. "You're the one that wanted to talk."

Mark glared back at Emma thinking, _Two can play this game._


	26. Ch 25: Most Wonderful Time of the Year

NellieBly413672: Your questions will all be answered soon, lol. Thanks for reviewing! Glad you enjoyed it.

LTJM: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying and are excited for more.

Peachy65: I like your thoughts on the story… you've had really good insight so far. Almost everything I'm thinking in my writing is exactly what you've been saying. Thanks for the review!

theworldisatyourcommand: Thank you so much for the review! I love hearing from new people. You'll see what will happen with Riley and the guys in the next few chapters. Thanks again for the review!

A/N: Christmas chapter! Sorry it's been such a long wait... I've been really busy with school. I cannot wait for a break, lol. The good news is that this chapter is actually split in two parts because it ended up being really long, so that means the next update will be a lot quicker because it's already written. Anyway, please review – you know how much I like the feedback! (Hitting the 100 review mark would be especially nice!)

**Chapter 25: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year**

Over the next few days, the guys were practicing hard and playing hard in games. They knew one more cut needed to be made, and each guy on the team wanted to prove to Herb that they deserved a spot.

With one week until Christmas, the guys were also busy coming up with ideas for their Christmas party at Velta's. They decided to come up with gag gifts for everyone, including the coaching staff. Herb, Craig, and Doc were easy to shop for; the guys had ideas for their gifts for a while.

"Do we need to get Riley something?" Rammer asked after a long practice one afternoon.

"If she's coming to the party we should," Jimmy said.

"She hasn't been here for almost a week. Maybe we got lucky and she's not coming back," Verchota said.

"I wouldn't bother getting her anything anyway," OC said. "I doubt she's coming to the party.

"Besides, what kind of gag gift could we get her? A box of condoms?" Silky said with a laugh.

"Well, I'd feel bad if she showed up and she was the only one that doesn't get a present," Jimmy said.

"Then you can buy her something," Rizzo said.

"Who's going to the bar tonight?" OC asked to change the subject. "I think I need to get laid," he said with no real intent but just so that the subject would stay on the topic.

"I'll go," Verchota said.

"You're supposed to be going out to get a gift with me," Rammer reminded him. Since it was too difficult to come up with gag gifts as a team for each guy and keep it a secret, the team had a "Secret Santa" thing going on. Everyone picked a name to shop for, but the condition of the gift was that it had to be a prank gift.

"Oh yeah," Verchota said, now remembering his promise to Rammer. The he added, "I'd rather pick up some girls."

"I need to get a gift still too. Why don't I go with you guys?" OC suggested.

"You were supposed to go shopping with me," Mac said.

"Well, Mac can't go with us," Rammer told OC.

"Are you my Secret Santa?" Mac asked Rammer.

"No," he answered, almost too quickly. Mac just laughed thinking Rammer was lying. "I'm not," Rammer insisted.

"Well, we can at least drive together."

"Only if we're stopping for something to eat," Verchota said. "I'm starving.

Almost the whole team ended up deciding to do the same thing. They were going out for pizza before heading to the mall to buy their Secret Santa gag gifts.

When the rowdy group of hungry hockey players walked into the pizzeria, the two waitresses at the hostess podium had a mini argument over who would take their table.

"Ladies, please," OC began, trying to work his charm. "You don't have to fight over us. There's more than enough to share."

The brunette waitress rolled her eyes. "We were arguing over_ not_ getting stuck having your table."

"We tip well," OC said and winked.

"We'll seat you in a minute. We have to put some tables together," the waitress said, ignoring OC's flirting.

Although that waitress clearly didn't want anything to do with the, by the end of dinner, Silky, OC, and somehow, Verchota, managed to go home with three different waitresses phone numbers.

"Now you don't even have to go out tonight," Bah said.

"I definitely do," OC said. "I need to see if there's anything better out there."

"Me too," Silky said. "Beverly wasn't that good looking. She just had a nice rack."

* * *

The guys pretty much split up once they got to the mall. Certain individuals knew exactly what they were looking for, while others were just browsing.

Mac and OC went to a lingerie store first, shopping Silky's gift.

"Can I help you both with anything?" a somewhat attractive but plastic looking clerk with very big breasts and very blonde hair asked.

"I'm looking for some panties," Mac said with a completely serious look on his face.

"Who are they for?" the girl asked.

"A friend," Mac said with a grin.

"She must be a special friend," the girl responded.

"Oh, he is," Mac replied causing the girl to get a horrified look on her face.

"Uh… um… well, what color were you looking for?" she asked, stammering.

"Nothing in particular. He's not picky. Something silk if you have it. He really likes-"

"Silk!" OC shouted, loud enough so Mac heard him. OC was warning his friend that Silky was in the store. Mac looked behind him to see Silky walking into the store and over to where the guys were standing.

"What are my buddies doing in a lingerie store?" he asked, hitting Mac on the back. "And who is this lovely lady?" he asked the clerk.

"I'm helping your friend pick something out for a… um… a special friend," the clerk said awkwardly.

"I didn't know you had a special lady friend," Silky said to Mac. The clerk became very red and quickly made an excuse to leave. As Mac was trying to think of something to say as to who he was shopping for, Bah entered the store.

"I lost Silk," he told OC. Then he noticed Silky standing close by. "And somehow I knew I would find him in the lingerie store," Bah added, shaking his head but nonetheless amused.

"I was distracted," Silky said, looking in the direction the blonde store worker went.

"Another nice rack I presume?" Bah asked.

"What else?" Silky asked smiling.

"I thought of something to get You Know Who," Bah said, vaguely.

"All right. Let's go," Silky said with a sigh, as if he was being forced to leave.

"You don't have to go. If you want to stay here with 'Nice Rack Girl,' go ahead."

"I don't think she liked me much," Silky said with a shrug. "She sort of ran away."

"Smart girl," OC joked. Silky hit him, and then left the store with Bah. This allowed Mac and OC to finish picking out Mac's gift for Silky.

"Jesus!" Mac gasped, looking at a price tag. "Lingerie is expensive!"

"No wonder girls never want to buy it," OC said, also noticing the price.

"We don't buy it for ourselves because it's uncomfortable and degrading," a voice familiar to OC said as if she had been speaking on behalf of all girls everywhere. "And we don't like getting it either," the girl added, and OC turned to see Lisa standing nearby.

After a few minutes of awkward conversation between OC and Lisa, she left, having bought nothing. OC wondered for a second why she was even in the store in the first place before Mac interrupted his thoughts.

"Was that that girl you went out with a few times?" Mac asked.

"Women's Rights chick…yeah," OC admitted. "That was awkward." After looking through their options for a gift for Silky a minute OC continued, "So why'd you scare off that worker before anyway? She was hot!"

"She was not hot!" Mac said.

"Do you not like tits? They were like, right there!" OC said.

"Yeah, they looked totally fake. I bet they're implants. Besides, I like the classic look on girls. She was trashy."

"She works in a lingerie store," OC said, half whispering. "I think they're told to show their bra."

"This isn't a strip club – her boss cannot make her show her bra," Mac told OC.

"I don't know about that," OC began, "It's like selling their product or something. I think they can make her show it."

"No," Mac said.

"Yeah."

"No."

"Go ask her," OC said, challenging Mac.

"You," Mac said.

"You want to know."

"No, you want to know."

"Excuse me, is there something I can help you with?" a different worker walked up and asked. She didn't seem that amused with the arguing; however, Mac and OC liked arguing and did it all the time.

"Do you have to show your bra to work here?" OC asked casually.

"Excuse me?" the girl asked, sounding horrified.

"Don't mind him," Mac cut in. "He had a little too much to drink tonight," he lied. OC hadn't had a drop of alcohol to drink. He had a coke with his pizza.

"I'm going to get my manager," the girl said, walking away quickly.

"We better leave," OC said. "You can get your gift somewhere else."

"No you leave. You're the idiot. I want to buy it here."

"You really want to buy from a store that makes their employees show their bras?" OC asked, thinking that would get Mac to leave.

"I don't care what their rules are. I think it's crazy. How many men must come in here to hit on them every day? I wouldn't want my girlfriend working here."

"I would never have a girlfriend stupid enough to work here," OC said. "Sure they were hot but their heads were so filled with air I could see it coming out of their ears."

Mac and OC then noticed a scary looking woman coming out of the back. They assumed she was the manager, though she didn't look like the type to be working in a lingerie store.

"Let's go," Mac said, changing his mind on buying Silky's gift at that shop. "I'll get Silky's gift somewhere else." OC laughed and followed Mac out of the store.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rammer and Verchota were searching for a gift for Magic and Rizzo. Like Rammer told Mac earlier, he wasn't Rammer's Secret Santa. Rammer still didn't want Mac knowing though because Mac had a big mouth. Secrets never stayed secrets for long around Mac.

"I think I'm getting these for Rizzo," Verchota said, picking up a headband with sparkly silver balls on top.

"That's random," Rammer commented.

"I think they're goofy. And he's goofy sometimes. I don't know... I like them."

"I still think you should get him that goofy apron we saw in the kitchen store," Rammer said.

"It was fifteen dollars! Remember the limit we put on the gifts. No more than eight."

"Why's it eight again? That's such an odd limit."

"Some people wanted five and some wanted ten," Verchota said and shrugged.

"I don't know what to get Magic," Rammer said.

"Get him magician stuff," Verchota suggested.

"That's dumb," Rammer countered.

"Get him these," Verchota said, picking up a container of bubbles.

"Why?"

"Because it's something."

"I don't like your ideas," Rammer told his friend.

"Then don't ask for them."

"I didn't!" Rammer protested.

"Well, you basically did," Verchota said, keeping the bubbles and headband in his hand as he moved on in the store.

"You're keeping the bubbles?" Rammer wondered.

"Well, you don't want them. Besides, I need something else to go with Rizzo's gift. The headband is only a dollar."

"So are the bubbles."

"I'm making a recipe book for him too."

Rammer gave Verchota an odd look. "You're _making_ a recipe book? Have you ever _made_ anything in your life?"

Verchota thought for a minute before answering. "No. But this isn't going to be elaborate. It's going to be a joke. There's just going to be a meatball recipe in it."

"Whatever man," Rammer said, half laughing.

* * *

Buzz and Gayle were also out shopping at the same time as the rest of the team but on their own. They walked into a store because there were some cute baby clothes in the store window.

"How cute is this?" Gayle said, holding up a light and dark blue stripped onesie with a puppy face on the front.

"Pretty cute," Buzz said, knowing better than to say anything bad about the outfit. Gayle usually got mad if he didn't like baby clothes.

"What about this one?" Gayle asked, just as excited, holding up a pink outfit this time.

"That's cute too. Unfortunately, my Secret Santa definitely doesn't need baby clothes," Buzz hinted.

Gayle ignored him, not purposely, but just because she was too engrossed with the baby stuff. "Look over here! A clearance bin!" Buzz then noticed a sign that said the clothes in a particular bin were all under ten dollars. He inwardly groaned.

"Gayle honey, we don't need anything from there. Why bother looking?"

"Well, we'll need baby clothes someday," she said, rummaging through the tiny clothes. "And they're so cheap!"

"It doesn't mean we need to buy anything."

"But Buzzy, this is a great deal! It's not like the stuff will go out of style before we have kids. They're baby clothes – they can't go out of style."

Buzz just sighed. He knew he wouldn't win. _Better to let Gayle look at the clothes. She's done it many times before and never bought anything, _Buzz thought.

Fifteen minutes and twenty dollars later, Buzz and Gayle left the store, Buzz carrying a bag with a giraffe on it, full of clearance baby clothes.

They ran into Silky and Bah, along with Kristen who was now with them.

"What's with the baby store bag?" Silky immediately wondered, eyeing the couple.

"Gayle just saw some things she had to have. You know women," Buzz said.

"Is there something you want to tell us?" Silky wondered.

"No," Buzz answered, dumbly. He didn't get what Silky was insinuating.

"I just saw some cute things and decided to buy them ahead," Gayle said. "There wasn't any real reason to," she added, knowing exactly what Silky was getting at.

"Let me see them!" Kristen said. "I love baby clothes."

All three guys rolled their eyes. As the girls were enthusiastically looking at the baby clothes, Bah asked where the store was in the mall.

"I want to avoid going past it at all costs," he told Buzz. "I don't want Kristen getting any ideas."

"You know Gayle," Silky began pointing out to his friend's wife, "usually people wait until they're pregnant until they buy baby clothes."

"Well, girls are different," Kristen explained for Gayle. "When there's a really good sale, we buy things anyway. Eventually she'll need them."

"Not for a long time if I can help it," Buzz joked. He was only kidding, but he instantly noticed Gayle's face go dark. Gayle quickly hid it as Kristen looked at her though. They chatted for a few more minutes about Secret Santa gifts for the team and then said their goodbyes, needing to get the rest of their shopping in. Buzz noticed his wife had been quiet since his comment about having kids though, and was worried she was mad at him.

After walking in the mall a few minutes, Buzz knew Gayle was definitely upset. She was totally quiet, and it wasn't a comfortable silence between the couple either. It was a tense silence.

"Gayle, are you okay?" Buzz asked, not knowing how else to bring up the topic.

"I'm fine."

"You seem… not fine," Buzz said, nervously laughing, trying to lighten the mood.

"Why wouldn't I be fine? We're happy, healthy, you're living a dream…" Gayle said somewhat sarcastically, leaving her sentence hang.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Buzz asked, slightly put off by the comment.

"Nothing," Gayle said, not looking at him and still walking.

"Gayle. Stop," Buzz said. She kept walking. "Would you stop?" he asked, grabbing her arm. Now that he was facing her, he could see tears in her eyes. He knew exactly what all of this was about too.

"Come here," he said, opening his arms to wrap her in a hug. "I'm sorry." Buzz held his wife for a minute, before pulling away and brushing a piece of hair back that fell in front of her face. "I didn't mean what I said before."

"Said about what?" Gayle asked, playing dumb.

"About having kids," Buzz said, though knowing Gayle was just pretending not to know. "I didn't mean what I said. I know you want kids, and I promise that I do too. Someday," he added. "I don't want to wait forever, but sometimes I think having a kid now wouldn't be fair. How much would I be around? We don't know what'll happen after the Olympics are over. Do we really want to have a kid when we're halfway across the world?"

"As long as I'm with you, I don't care where we start a family," Gayle said. Before Buzz could say anything Gayle continued. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me. I think it's the holiday season. I see kids everywhere and they make me so happy."

As if on cue, a screaming child ran away from his parents screaming, "I won't sit on that old man's lap! You can't make me! He's not the real Santa!"

Buzz and Gayle both laughed. "Except when they do that," Gayle said.

Buzz looked his wife in the eyes. "If you really want to start trying for a baby, we will."

Gayle gave her husband a suggestive grin. "Of course you're saying that. What guy wouldn't want a perfectly good excuse to have sex every night?"

"I'm serious baby," Buzz said, though smiling at his wife's comment. "If you want a baby, we'll have one."

"I'll wait," Gayle said. "You're right about the timing thing. Maybe we should just let whatever happens happen."

"We can still have sex every night though, right?" Buzz asked, joking.

"We already do," Gayle said, laughing right back and starting to walk away.

"We do not!" Buzz said catching up to her. "Probably like, four times a week max!"

"It's more than that," Gayle said.

"I think you're wrong," Buzz told her. They playfully argued a few more minutes before finding a store where Buzz was sure he would find a gift for OC.

By the end of the week, the guys were more than ready for their Christmas break. They didn't have that much time off, but even a couple days was good enough for them. Everyone at the Brooks' house was excited too, that was, everyone except for Riley. She had been doing okay all week, but the closer she got to Christmas, the harder it was. Riley hated seeing everyone so happy, because it was like no one cared that her father wasn't around for the holidays.

* * *

The morning of Doc and Velta's party, Patty was baking some cookies for Herb to take over. Mary was over at the Brooks' house as well, wrapping some presents. The four younger kids were in the Christmas spirit too, making decorations to put in the windows and frosting cut-out cookies.

"Want to help me wrap?" Mary asked Riley.

"No."

"Want to help us, Riley?" Erin asked as she ate one of the cookies she frosted. "You get to eat them too!" Erin added, her mouth full.

"No."

"Can you hang this up higher?" Kyle asked, holding out a window decoration.

"No. I can't," Riley said, walking away and going back upstairs to her room. She didn't even want to be around anyone right then. Just then, she ran into Herb on the stairs.

"Are you coming to the Christmas party?" her uncle asked.

"I don't think so," Riley said. "I haven't been there the past week. I think I should just stay home."

"Is something going on between you and the team?" Herb wondered. Riley thought it was amazing that he picked up on it. He was usually pretty dense.

"It's nothing," Riley said, trying to sound convincing enough. "I think I should be with my family," Riley lied. She was pretty sure the lie was convincing though because Herb said okay and continued down the stairs.

* * *

Bah went over to see Emma just before going to the Christmas party. Every year they exchanged gifts just before Christmas and this year was no exception.

"I hope you like it," Bah said as Emma was opening the box. "I had trouble shopping for you this year."

Emma finished unwrapping the gift to find a board game called _Stop Thief_. "Bah – this is great! I saw this advertized and really wanted it!" Emma gave him a hug and kiss in the cheek to show her appreciation.

Bah knew Emma loved board games, especially ones with thinking and memory skills involved. They used to have game nights all the time, even throughout college, but since Bah started with the Olympic team, their schedules didn't coincide as much and they didn't really have as much time to hang out.

"That's also to kind of let you know we don't spend enough time together anymore," Bah said.

"You're right about that. It's been months since we've spent quality time together. When we do spend time together, it's with the rest of the team."

Next was Bah's turn to open his gift. Emma got him Video Pinball by Atari.

"Emma! This is amazing! I never thought I'd get this."

"I know you've only been asking your parents for it since it came out two years ago," Emma said sarcastically. "I saw it in the store and had to get it for you."

Now it was Bah's turn to give Emma a hug. "You're the best Best Friend ever!" Bah told her.

"Want to try out the board game?" Emma asked. She knew Bah had some time before he had to get to Herb's for the party.

"Yeah, let's do it," Bah said enthusiastically. As they began playing the game, they started talking about the things they always talked about together, from movies and music to family and friends. The 'friends' topic then brought up the Mark problem Emma was facing. It was more like a problem for both of them though, because Bah was involved by default.

"Emma, why won't you talk to Mark? Make up with him. I know you both like each other."

"I like Mark. I really like do. But who would I be kidding? In a couple months, it'll be over. I didn't mean to react the way I did to hearing about OC and Riley," Emma said. Then sarcastically, she added, "I mean, come on... Riley's a slut. And OC's a guy. It's no surprise they slept together." Bah noticed Emma sounded almost bitter, but at the same time, he could tell it wasn't because she was still upset about it. Emma then continued, "After I thought about my reaction though, I realized that maybe, although I like Mark a lot, I might not have strong enough feelings for him."

"And you think you had stronger feelings for OC?" Bah asked, confused by his best friend's statement.

"No. But I'm beginning to think I don't like Mark as more than a friend. I mean, why would I even care about OC at all if I was really interested in Mark?"

"I don't know," Bah answered, replying to her somewhat rhetorical question.

Emma continued as though she didn't hear Bah's response anyway. "It's not fair to Mark to string him along if I don't feel anything."

"So you have no feelings for Mark?" Bah asked, trying to get a grasp of exactly what Emma was saying.

"I don't know," Emma answered, almost sounding sad that she wasn't sure.

"You should talk to him. Tell him everything you told me," Bah suggested. "It might help."

"I don't know," Emma said.

"Emma – you've never been afraid to tell people what's on your mind before. Why start now?"

"I don't want to hurt him," Emma admitted. "Mark's such a good guy. He doesn't deserve to be hurt."

"Neither do you," Bah said, then explained what he meant. "Emma, you're my best friend. I don't want to see you upset, and right now, I can tell thinking about Mark is stressing you out. It'll be easier if you talk to him. And maybe you'll realize you do have feelings for him."

Emma smiled. "Maybe you're right," Emma said, finally taking her turn that was put on hold when the subject of Mark came up.

"I always am," Bah said with a grin.

Emma hit him in the arm. "You are not!" she laughed.

"Well, I'm right about this."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Just take your turn Bah."


	27. Chapter 26: Most Wonderful Time Part 2

NellieBly413672: Thank you for the review! I'm glad you liked the chapter! You'll see more of the gag gifts and the guys' reactions this chapter. As for the Mark and Emma talk, you'll have to wait until the next chapter. Hope you enjoy this one too.

A/N: Part 2 of the Christmas chapter! Please let me know what you think. As a side note, if you have any suggestions/things you would like to see happen in future chapters/what you want to see in the end let me know either by reviewing or messaging me. I know how the basic ending will be, but the details are still sort of up in the air. I keep changing my mind on exactly how I want it to end… so I figured my wonderful readers could have a say.

**Chapter 26: Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Part 2)**

A little after four in the afternoon, the guys began heading over to Doc and Velta's for the Christmas party. Most of the guys arrived at about the same time because they tried to fit as many as they could in as few cars as possible. Craig arrived just before the guys and Herb arrived shortly after the team.

"Is Riley coming?" Jimmy asked his coach a few minutes after his arrival.

"No, she wanted to stay with her family tonight," Herb said, though he still wasn't entirely sure that was the reason. He sensed something was going on, but figured the guys didn't seem to be affected by whatever it was, so it must not be involving them.

"Oh okay," Jimmy said, thankful she wasn't coming because he never ended up getting her a present. No matter how mad anyone was at her, and no matter who liked her and who didn't, Jimmy would have felt awful if she was the only one without a gift.

After a delicious dinner and dessert, compliments of Velta, the guys began exchanging gifts.

"Who's going first?" OC asked.

"How about whoever opens the gift, gives the gift next?" Buzz suggested. Silky ended up being chosen to give the first gift, because he was the closest to the tree at the time.

"Well, my gift goes to Coxy." Silky tossed a small, poorly wrapped package over to his friend. Coxy opened the package to find a whoopee cushion. He began laughing as did the rest of the team.

"We all know why," Silky said, laughing about an inside joke they all had. Coxy was one for letting his bodily functions go in the locker room. Between belching and farting, the guys heard and smelled it all.

Coxy gave his gift to Bah. "Just what I needed Coxy, thanks," Bah said, pulling a mining helmet with a head lamp out of wrapping paper. The Coneheads other nickname was the Iron Rangers, which was why the mining helmet was appropriate.

Bah gave his gift to Rammer next. "Gee, thanks Bah," Rammer said, after opening a wrapped baby bottle, which was meant to tease Rammer once again for being the "baby" on the team. "What's in it?" Rammer then asked, looking very confused. He thought the contents almost looked like beer.

"What do you think?" Bah asked, laughing. "It's beer." Rammer and the other guys just laughed.

Next Rammer handed out his gift to Magic to which Mac commented, "I thought for sure you had me."

"I told you I didn't," Rammer reminded him.

"I thought you were lying," Mac shrugged. The other guys all followed opening their gifts in turn. Some of the gifts were pretty creative – and pretty amusing. Verchota got bull horns as well as a package of Betty Crocker pumpkin cake mix, which was making fun of the delicious Thanksgiving pie he tried to pass off as his own. Jimmy got a colander because he was dubbed a sieve between the pipes along with a joke book because he was 'too serious' all of the time.

"Gee thanks," Jimmy said. "Now I can make you all laugh with lame jokes."

"Try it now," Rizzo said, wanting to hear a joke from the book.

"Okay," Jimmy said, flipping through the joke book to find something decent. "Okay, I got one… What goes 99-thump, 99-thump?"

"A centipede with a wooden leg!" Christian shouted out.

"Did you read this?" Jimmy asked, having gotten the gift from Christian.

"Well, I looked through it. I wanted to make sure the jokes were decent," Christian said with a shrug.

"That was gay," OC said, directing his comment at both Christian and Jimmy.

"Well, here's another," Jimmy began. "Don't ruin it this time, Christian," he added. "What's long, yellow, and fruity?" The guys looked at Jimmy, expecting an answer. "An apple in disguise," he told them after a pause.

Mac, Rizzo, and Buzz laughed. "That was gayer than the last," OC said dryly. "Give me that," he then said, grabbing the joke book. He flipped through it and concluded, "These are all dumb."

"Not all jokes are dirty," Rizzo told him.

"The good ones are," OC said with a smirk.

Next, Pav handed Mac his gift, which happened to be the second last of the team gifts. Mac opened the package to find a giant pacifier necklace.

"It's because you whine all the time," Pav joked. "If Rammer wasn't already the baby, you would be." Mac did whine a lot. He was known for complaining to the refs and complaining about different drills at practice even more. Herb rotated the captain and alternate captains for each of their games since he hadn't decided on a captain yet, and the guys dubbed Mac the worst, because he complained about everything. Everyone got a laugh out of Mac's gift, especially when he put it around his neck with pride.

"I complain because I'm sticking up for my team," he said. He was serious, but said it while laughing. As the guys were still laughing, he grabbed his present to Silky.

"Last one," Mac said, handing Silky a little box. As Silky opened it, Mac joked, "Your girl left these at my place… with some milk and cookies. Give her a hug for me," Mac said, smiling. The guys on the team all knew exactly who that joke was about. Ever since Riley slept with Silky, Silky had made comments to Mac that he would never have a chance with Riley, because Riley's standards would be set too high from her night with Silky.

"You guys are unbelievable," Silky commented with a smirk.

Next Craig and Herb opened their presents from the team, which both got some good laughs. Earlier, the guys had given Doc a gift too. They got him a goofy looking surgeon head lamp, which Jimmy and Buzz took credit for thinking of.

After all the gifts were open, Herb then left the party, and the guys went outside to play football. After their game on Thanksgiving, the losing team wanted revenge. At the time, the team that lost didn't really care that much, but now they knew they had another opportunity to win, so suddenly their previous loss mattered.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Brooks' and Brennan families, sans Herb, were having a nice dinner together. For that night, it was only Patty, Mary, Riley, and the four younger kids. Patty and Mary were arranging cookies on a tray for dessert and talking in the kitchen while the kids were in the living room. They began talking about Riley.

"I'm worried about her. The past week, she seemed to be doing better," Mary started, "but today she seemed ten times worse."

"I'm sure it's just hard being her first Christmas without her father."

"But I thought she was finally doing well," Mary said, sounding discouraged.

"She did seem better the past week," Patty agreed.

"I still think there's something going on with the team that she isn't telling me," Mary admitted. "She told me she didn't know if she wanted to work with them anymore."

"Do you have any idea what happened?"

"Not at all. Nothing more than guesses at least. I thought that whatever it was though, she was figuring it out on her own because she was more pleasant than she had been in months. Now I'm just not sure."

"Do you really think this is all related to someone on the team? Or do you think it might be depression?"

"I think she's somewhat depressed, but I think there's more to it than that," Mary admitted. Then she lowered her voice and said, "Patty, I almost think it has something to do with Riley having a crush on one of them. Maybe that person found out and things got awkward – I don't really know." Mary and Patty were interrupted by Riley who was now at the kitchen doorway.

"Mom! Why do you have to go telling people things that you don't even know?" Riley screamed. "I'm not some _child_ with a schoolgirl crush!"

Mary didn't say anything because she was too shocked that Riley had walked into the kitchen and heard the conversation.

"This doesn't even concern you. Why can't you mind your own fucking business?" Riley spat.

"Watch your language, Riley," Mary commented sternly.

"You know why I really want to stop helping the team?" Riley said, ignoring her mother. "Because I can't stand it here and I want to leave! I want to get away from you!" Riley yelled. Although Riley did want to leave, it wasn't her mother in particular that she wanted to get away from. Riley just wanted to get away from Minnesota in general. Riley figured she'd let her mom think that she was the sole reason though.

"Riley-" Mary started, getting cut off by her angry teenage daughter.

"No – I don't want to hear it. I hate you! Out of everyone in the family, why did dad have to be the one to get cancer?" Riley then stormed out of the room, leaving her mother and Patty stunned.

As her mom tried to grasp Riley's words, Patty just looked at her. Mary then began crying, and Patty attempted to comfort her by wrapping an arm around her.

"She didn't mean it," Patty said. "She's just upset. It's been a tough year."

Mary shook her head. "It's been tough on all of us. I can't believe she feels that way," Mary said, knowing her daughter basically meant that she would have rather had Mary die than her father.

"She doesn't, Mary," Patty said, hugging Mary. "I know she didn't mean it."

* * *

Riley's POV

I stopped through the living room and up the stairs, heading toward my room. _I hate my life, _I thought. _Mom doesn't get it. She doesn't care at all. All she cares about is making things easier for herself. It just isn't fair. My dad is dead and mom always acts like nothing had changed. Everyone acts like nothing is different!_ I furiously thought. I went into my room and slammed the door hard enough so I was sure the whole house heard it.

My plan was to stay in my room the rest of the night. I didn't want to see anyone. I didn't want to see their smiling faces, because they shouldn't be smiling. _How can they be happy?_ I wondered, just as I had for several months. After a little while, I ventured out to use the bathroom, planning to come right back to my room, but when I passed by Kelly's room, I heard what sounded like crying. Curious, I poked my head in to see my sister sitting on Kelly's floor.

"What's wrong, Erin?" I asked as sweetly as I could. I was still furious at my family, mainly at my mom, but my sister was obviously upset. She hardly ever cried unless she got hurt, and her cry didn't exactly sound like an 'I got hurt' cry. I thought that maybe I could help, so I walked in. My sister was sitting in the middle of the floor with something that I didn't recognize at first, but when I got closer, I realized it was a picture of Dad.

"I miss Daddy," she said, finally answering me, and she looked up at me with her big, blue eyes that were filled with tears. This was the first time I could remember seeing her cry over dad. Even at the funeral, no one seemed to cry. It was then that I realized something. My little sister, and probably my brother for that matter, most likely missed dad just as much as me. My eyes filled with tears too as I sat down next to her and put my arm around her shoulder.

"I miss him too, Erin," I said, and hugged her, then gave her a kiss on the head. For the next few minutes we sat there together, hugging each other and crying.

"I want him to be here," Erin said. "Why did God take him? Why didn't he take Uncle Bob or something?" she asked naively. "He's old." As she said this about our 80 year old great uncle, I tried not to laugh. Thinking about it more though, I stopped smiling. Ever since I was really young, I was taught that people died because God decided that He wanted them in Heaven. Since my dad died, I'd been asking myself why God took him every day, never coming up with an answer.

I still really didn't have a specific answer, but I said, "I don't know. But I suppose God had a reason."

"Do you think Daddy wishes he was with us?"

"Yeah, sweetie, I do," I said, wiping my tear stained faced. "But he's in a better place. Now he doesn't have to be in the hospital, and he's not sick anymore," I said, saying things I never even thought of myself before tonight.

"Do you think he's an angel?" Erin asked, in a really wondering tone. I knew she thought he was an angel, but I think she wanted to hear confirmation from me.

"Yeah, I do. And I bet he's watching down on us right now, wishing that we wouldn't cry and that we would be happy on Christmas." As I said this, tears welled into my eyes again. Telling Erin to be happy was hard when I wasn't happy myself, but that was another thing I hadn't ever thought about before. What I said was true - _Dad would want us to be happy, like we were before. And he isn't in pain anymore. He doesn't have to fight to smile just because we were crowding in his hospital room._

"You mean Daddy wouldn't want us to miss him?" Erin asked.

"Well, we can miss him," I explained. "I bet we always will," I added, knowing that I would definitely always miss him. "But Daddy wouldn't want us to be sad all the time, Erin." Erin nodded as if she understood. She wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"It's okay to cry sometimes though, right?" Erin asked.

I nodded and said, "Of course. Sometimes, all I feel like doing is crying. And crying can make me feel a little better sometimes too."

"Talking to you made me feel better," Erin said pointedly. I smiled and wiped my face again. I never realized that talking to a seven year old would help, but talking made me feel more than better. I felt like a weight that had been on me for the past several months had been lifted.

"Talking to you made me feel better too," I told her. "Why don't we go downstairs? I think we both have some cookies to eat," I said smiling.

"Okay, let's go," Erin said. We both stood up and walked out of her room hand in hand.

* * *

Although I felt better having just talked with my little sister, I quickly felt worse again after I made it downstairs and saw my mom sitting on the couch, watching Kyle and Danny play with a toy. I could tell she had been crying, and I instantly felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt. I knew my words before were harsh, but I couldn't bring myself to apologize yet. I didn't know what to say. I knew what I said was totally uncalled for. I quietly sat on the floor with Erin, avoiding looking in my mom's direction for the time being.

_If Kyle and Erin miss dad just as much as me, I bet mom does to. Maybe she just doesn't show it too, _I thought. A few minutes later, my mom went to get a drink from the kitchen. I hesitantly followed her. She was alone so it was the perfect time to talk.

"Mom?" I called softly, and she turned around to face me. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure Riley, sit down," she said in a soft tone and handed me a cutout cookie. By the frosting, I could tell it was one Erin had frosted, and I smiled, remembering our conversation minutes before. I looked at my mom for a minute, and from her expression, I almost think she knew what I wanted.

"I don't know where to start," I admitted, taking a bite of the cutout cookie me mom handed to me. My mom didn't respond, giving me time to say something. "I'm sorry about what I said before. I didn't mean it."

"I know," Mary said, understanding.

"I feel really bad about what I said," I told her. "I just miss dad so much. I'm so mad that he died, and I guess sometimes I say things I don't mean. I know it doesn't excuse it, but I just wanted you to know I didn't mean it. I love you, mom."

Mary reached across the table to touch her daughter's hand. "I love you too, and I know you miss your dad, Riley. I do too. I wonder why this had to happen to our family every day," Mary said, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Oh, Mom," I said, walking to her side of the table to hug her. I was sort of taken aback because I had never really seen her cry before. Ever since dad died, my mom had been like a stone with her emotions. Now I realized that she was probably holding back for me and my sibling's sake. My mom hugged me back. After letting go, I pulled the chair I had been sitting on around the table to sit closer to her.

"It's sort of weird," I then began, "because until today I didn't really think anyone was missing him as much as me."

"Riley," Mary said, now hugging her daughter. "We all miss him. We all just have our own ways to cope."

"I know that now," I said.

After talking a few more minutes, Mary asked if I was going to be okay. She admitted that she was really worried about me, and she even said she was starting to worry about my own safety. It scared me a little, because I never realized just how badly I was taking everything, and just how depressed I was coming across to other people. Everyone around me thought I needed help except for me.

"I think I'll be okay," I said honestly. "Talking to you really helped. I talked to Erin earlier too. I guess I didn't realize how much I needed to get things off my chest."

"You know we can always talk right, Riley?" Mary asked.

I managed a small smile and nodded. "We always could," I then said. "I guess I just forgot how much we did talk before dad got sick."

"I miss talking to you," Mary admitted.

"Me too Mom," I said. "I love you."

"I love you too Riley," Mary said, and we gave each other a bug hug once again.

* * *

Later on that night, Riley decided to go home with her family. They weren't completely moved into their house yet, but they had the basic furniture and the house was livable. Mary did have a room saved in the new house for Riley, but with no bed there wasn't really a place to sleep. Since Mary had a queen size bed, Riley just decided to share her bed.

As they got into bed, Riley asked, "Remember when I was little and dad was on business trips? I always loved getting to sleep in your bed."

"I know. We used to have pajama parties and do each other's hair and make-up."

"I don't know why you let me," Riley said laughing. "Your hair must have been such a mess! And I can't even imagine the terrible make-up job I must have done."

"But you loved it," Mary said with a smile.

A few minutes after the lights were out, Riley worked up the nerve to talk to her mom about the team. She really needed advice.

"Mom?" she asked softly, hoping her mom was still awake.

"Yeah Riley?"

"I need your advice." Mary sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. "I really messed up with the guys."

"What happened?" Mary asked, trying to not show her happiness that Riley was talking to her about whatever had happened.

"Well, I did something really, really stupid on my birthday." As Mary looked at her daughter, she became anxious to hear what Riley was going to say. She was almost afraid to hear it, because the look on Riley's face was really serious. "I know you're going to be furious," Riley said. "But I need your advice. So after you're done screaming and yelling, I just need your honest advice. And you _cannot_ tell Uncle Herb!"

Mary didn't say anything to encourage Riley to keep talking except nod in understanding that she would not tell her brother.

"I sort of… well, I slept with one of the guys." Mary's eyes went wide. She was shocked. She knew Riley was going to tell her something big, but didn't really expect that. At the same time, Mary wasn't all that surprised.

"Riley," Mary began, after being able to form words once again. "Why?"

"I thought it would help," Riley said. "I was so lonely. I thought if I slept with him, things would get better. But now the guys hate me because they think I'm a traitor. The guy I was with was brought in late to take someone else's spot on the team." Riley took a deep breath before continuing. It felt really good to get this off her chest. "I know what I did was wrong. The guys have every right to be mad at me too."

Mary looked at her daughter, trying to think of what to say. She could tell Riley wasn't in need of a lecture. The look on her teenage daughter's face told Mary that Riley was sorry she did it. She needed advice, not lecturing. Telling Riley what she did was wrong wouldn't help because it was clear that Riley already knew what she did was wrong.

"Mom, I know you're mad. But please, say something."

"I'm not mad, Riley," Mary said, almost starting to cry. _How did things get so bad?_ Mary wondered. _A year ago, I was giving Riley advice on asking a boy to a semi-formal. She wanted to know what it was like to kiss someone. Now I have to give her advice on one night stands? _It wasn't that Mary thought Riley was too young, because she knew a lot of teenagers had sex, but Mary knew that it just wasn't like her daughter.

"I'm just upset I didn't see this coming," Mary said. "If I would have been there for you more the last several months, you wouldn't have felt so alone," Mary said, knowing all of this had to do with Dan's death.

"Mom, it's not your fault," Riley said, now crying herself. She didn't want her mom to feel guilty. "I hate disappointing you," Riley said, after her mom was silent for a minute.

"I'm not disappointed in you," Mary said. "If anything, I'm more proud that you were mature enough to come to me."

Riley felt a little pain of guilt because she only gave her mom part of the story. If Mary had any idea she hooked up with multiple guys on the team, there was no doubt Mary would definitely be disappointed. Looking back, Riley was disappointed in herself. She didn't regret everything that happened, because she learned a lesson, but she was disappointed in herself.

Riley's guilt over not telling Mary the whole story quickly went away though, because Riley knew that no one told their parent's everything. And openly admitting to having sex was something most teens didn't do at all, so Riley was one step ahead.

"What do you think I should do?" Riley asked. "They guys all hate me now. I feel terrible. They always thought I was just some kid, and now they think I'm some slut that doesn't give a damn what happens to anyone but myself."

"Just talk to them. Tell them that you're sorry and they'll be able to tell you mean it. Just act as grown up as you are right now. They'll respect you Riley," Mary assured her. "Running away will only make it worse."

Riley just hoped her mom was right. Although Riley didn't reveal the whole story, most of her problem was attributed to Tim, so her mom's advice just might work.


	28. Chapter 27: Changing My Way of Living

dundunduntonnnn: Thanks for the review - I'm glad you like the story. I got this up as fast as I could!

NellieBly413672: Thanks for the review, glad you liked it! Glad you liked the gag gifts too - that's my favorite scene in the movie! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Peachy65: Thanks for reviewing! You'll find out what happens with the guys this chapter. I think you'll like how it turns out.

Dogdaysareover: Glad you liked it and thanks for the review! Hope you enjoy this one too.

LTJM: Thanks, gald you like it, and glad you liked Riley's convo with her mom. You'll see more of their interaction soon.

A/N: Thank you all again for the wonderful reviews! Reading them made me so happy. Sorry I couldn't get this chapter up sooner. I had such a busy week! Hope you all enjoy – please R&R!

**Chapter 27: Change My Way of Living**

The Monday after Christmas the team was ready to get back on the ice and begin practicing again. There was just under two months until the opening ceremonies, and their schedule was pretty full until then. Each week until the week before the games, the guys had three games. Since they played every upcoming Saturday night, it meant three practices on top of the three games. If they were lucky, each Sunday they would have a day to rest up.

Riley was joining the team at practice that Monday morning, but she was a little nervous. She didn't know how the guys would react to seeing her, or if they would even want to hear what she had to say. Since Herb had some paperwork for Riley to take care of, she didn't have to see anyone if she didn't want to that day, but she wanted to see everyone and get it over with. Arriving with Herb at the rink though, she decided to wait until after practice to talk to the guys. Riley also wanted to talk to a few of them individually, starting with OC. She wanted to start with OC because even though he was really pissed and said hurtful things, she knew he was being brutally honest, and in a way, Riley knew she needed to hear them.

Now if she could just find him before she ran into anyone else…

Riley waited in the hallway outside the locker room after practice, but near the end so that when the guys came out they wouldn't see her. She was standing opposite the direction of the exit, so if she was lucky, they wouldn't run into her. Her plan was to catch OC when he came out, hopefully alone.

It was as if someone upstairs was helping her out, because OC did walk out alone today, and he was one of the last ones, so Riley knew not too many guys would be following him out.

"OC, wait up," Riley called out running down the hallway to catch him. OC stopped and turned around, at first not knowing who had called him.

"Oh, it's you," he said upon seeing Riley.

"Can we talk?" Riley asked.

"I don't know," OC replied. "I don't think I have much to talk to you about."

Riley ignored OC's snarky comments and went on. "I need to talk to you," she said seriously.

"Okay," OC said, agreeing because he could Riley was serious from her tone and lack of smart ass replies.

"I know you and everyone else are probably still pissed at me. I deserve it. What I did…" the red head began, looking down at her feet in embarrassment before elaborating, "sleeping with Tim… was totally uncalled for." Riley looked back up at OC, who looked pissed at the reminder, but didn't say a word.

"Look, OC. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, and I can't make up for what I did, but I just wanted to apologize anyway."

"To help make yourself feel better?" OC scoffed.

Riley shook her head. "That's not the whole reason. It's part of it, but I just think all of you deserve an apology. You and Rizzo most of all."

"Why us?" OC asked. He was mainly making Riley a hard time now, just because he wanted to see her sweat it out.

"Well, Rizzo because by sleeping with Tim, it was sort of like… like I was throwing him under the bus. That wasn't my intention, but I can see how it looked to him."

"And me?"

"Because of everything that happened between us," Riley started. She continued, "You were trying to be a nice guy and gave me advice, then I basically… just threw everything you said in your face," Riley finished, not knowing how else to word it.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Riley continued, "OC, I wish I could take it all back, but I can't. The only thing I can do is show you and everyone else that I'm not that person. I care about all of you."

"Okay, " OC said, unconvincingly. "Well, I gotta go, but I guess I'll see you around if you're going to hang out with us again."

"Yeah," Riley said sadly. She didn't think she deserved their forgiveness, but she hoped it would have went better than it did.

OC walked away to leave Riley standing by herself in the hallway. Tears began forming in her eyes, tears she knew she would have trouble controlling. She hadn't even realized OC had stopped and turned back around again.

"A bunch of us are going to the bar tonight. You're welcome to join us." Riley looked up at OC but couldn't be sure whether he was being sincere or not.

"Um, I think I'll pass," Riley said. "I'm busy doing family stuff tonight." Aside from not knowing if he was sincere, she had already promised to help her mom do some things around the new house that night. She was moving in with them in a few days, as soon as she could move her stuff from her uncle's house to her family's house.

"Okay, well, see you tomorrow then," OC said, walking away again. He then stopped a second time to see Riley wiping her face.

"Riley, we all make mistakes," he said seriously. Then he grinned. "Some people just happen to make more than others. As long as you learn from them, there's no real harm." Riley looked at OC, wondering if he was making fun of her or being nice. She couldn't tell. "Catch ya later, Ri," OC said, and turned around again, this time actually leaving.

And with that simple nickname, Riley knew they were okay. Now she had to work on Rizzo.

* * *

Late Monday afternoon, Emma headed over to the dorms, wanting to take Bah's advice and talk to Mark. She was a little nervous, because Mark had every right to be mad and refuse to talk to her.

Emma knocked on the door, hoping Mark was in his room alone, because things would be even more awkward if she needed to kick his roommate out.

"Hey Emma," Mark said upon opening the door, sounding less than thrilled to see her.

"Are you alone?" Emma asked, not bothering to say hi first.

"Yeah."

"Can I come in?" Emma asked. "I need to talk to you."

Mark sighed. "Sure. Come on in," he said and opened the door just wide enough for Emma to walk in past him.

Emma sat on his bed and waited for him to walk over to where she was sitting. She thought he was going to sit down, but instead he stood in front of her with his arms folded.

"Okay, I deserve this, I know," Emma said, talking about Mark's attitude. "But if you'll just let me explain…"

"You can explain all you want, Emma. It won't mean anything."

"Mark, you're a great guy and I like you. Whenever I'm with you I have fun, and you're always so respectful and just an all around nice guy." Before Emma had a chance to continue, Mark interrupted her.

"And since I'm such a nice guy you decided it was necessary to see if I had a not so nice side by throwing your crush on OC in my face?" Mark rhetorically asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Mark, that's not what I was trying to do," Emma said softly.

"Then what were you trying to do?"

"I just…I don't know," Emma said. "I can't explain."

"Then why are you here?" Mark snapped.

Emma just looked at him for a minute without answering. She really didn't know what to say. "Mark, I don't want to hurt you. I _do_ like you. I _am_ over OC, I can promise you that. I just can't promise that things will work out for us."

"You're right about that Emma," Mark began, "because there is no _us_."

Tears began forming in Emma's eyes. She hated that Mark was so mad at her, and she didn't know how to fix it.

"Mark, please. Don't do this."

"I didn't do anything. You're the one that's at fault. I'm not going to be your back-up guy. If I'm not good enough for your first choice, then you're not good enough for me either."

"Mark, you are good enough. Too good. You're the guy any girl would be lucky enough to have."

"Which is why I deserve someone that puts me first and not second behind some other guy," Mark interjected, cutting Emma off once again. It was enough to make Emma snap.

"Mark! I came over here to talk to you. I already know I'm at fault. I don't need you reaffirming it. If you want me to leave I will, but you're not going to keep putting me down!"

Emma's outburst quieted Mark right down. He was giving her an extra hard time on purpose, because for as mad as he was, he still liked her, and Mark didn't want give in too easily.

Emma then continued when she was sure Mark wouldn't interrupt. "Mark, I like you. I really do. But what'll happen in two months when you leave and we never see each other again? I'm afraid that if I let myself get too close to you, I'll get hurt. Want to know why OC's so appealing?" Emma asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "Because I already know we'd never last anyway." Emma paused for a minute, letting it sink in with Mark.

"Mark, I can't say the same about the two of us."

"Emma," Mark said softly, now sitting next to her on the bed. He still didn't get too close though. "I wish you would have talked to me before."

"I didn't realize it until a couple days ago. I felt so guilty about what happened, especially because I didn't know what I was feeling or why, but after I thought it through, it all made sense."

Now Mark put his arm around Emma. "I can't make any promises about where we'll be in a couple months, but if you want to try…"

"I'd like that Mark," Emma said with a smile.

* * *

The next day after the morning skate that preceded home games, Riley was on her way out when she was stopped by OC and Silky.

"Long time no see, Riley," Silky commented. "Have you been hiding from us?"

Riley didn't know how to respond, but luckily OC answered for her. "Herb just gave her time off for the holidays. I saw her yesterday, but Herb was keeping her busy. He must know about your ulterior motive with any woman that crosses your path and decided not to let you near her." OC said this with a grin and winked at Riley to show her he was joking. Riley smiled, thankful OC came up with something to shut Silky up. Silky just gave OC a shove. He didn't find OC's comment that funny.

"So I guess he figured out what that gift meant…" was Silky's comeback, now putting OC in his place.

"What gift?" Riley asked curiously.

"Nothing. Some stupid gag gift Silky got at the Christmas party," OC said. Then changing the subject he asked, "Riley want to come out with us tonight after the game?"

"Uh, maybe. I'll think about it."

"It'll be fun," OC said, trying to get Riley to join them.

"I'll let you know," Riley said. She hadn't talked to anyone except OC yet, so Riley wasn't entirely sure anyone would want her to go out with them.

That evening, Riley was one of the first at the arena for the game. Before each game she was in charge of getting equipment ready, filling water bottles, and basically doing anything else that Herb needed as well. Jimmy was usually the first team member to arrive, so Riley decided that she would take advantage of the chance to talk to him alone. Riley knew he had a pregame routine that he hated breaking, but because they were usually the first two people around, they typically made some small talk anyway.

"Hey Jimmy," Riley said without looking up as the locker room door opened.

"How'd you know it was me?" Jimmy asked.

"You're always here first," Riley said, now looking up.

"Yeah I guess I am," Jimmy said. "How are things looking?" he asked, noticing Riley was studying the other team's roster, which happened to be another one of Riley's jobs. Herb always had Riley look at the starting lineup and make notes based on what notes he already had on the players. Sometimes Riley sensed it was nothing more than busy work though, because she never felt that good at making the notes, and she never even saw Herb use them. Riley often got the feeling that almost everything she did was busy work, but it really didn't bother her. Riley was just glad Herb was letting her be a part of the team.

"I think you guys will win tonight," Riley told him.

"Don't go jinxing us," Jimmy said, flashing a smile.

Riley planned on talking to Jimmy about everything that had happened, but he was almost treating her like nothing had happened anyway, so she decided not to say anything. _Maybe I was making everything a bigger deal than it needed to be,_ Riley thought to herself, somewhat satisfied. A few seconds later, Rizzo walked in and Riley instantly realized she wasn't totally correct in her thinking.

"Hey Jim," Rizzo said, ignoring Riley's presence. Riley knew Rizzo saw her and was clearly still mad at her. She decided not to let it get to her though. More of the team was entering the locker room now and Riley wanted to talk to Rizzo alone, not with all sorts of noise in the background.

The guys played well in the game and came out on top, winning four to two. They decided to go out for a while after the game to celebrate their win. Whether they won or lost, they usually went out after the game, but it was always more fun when it was in celebration.

"Riley, want to go out for a while?" OC asked her. OC couldn't put his finger on it, but somehow Riley seemed different since she came back after Christmas. It was almost like she was more mature or something, and OC didn't really mind her hanging out with the team anymore. Besides, it was always fun to have a few girls around too. He knew Kristen, Gayle, and Emma were all coming out, so he thought it would be fun for Riley too.

"Um, I don't know," Riley said, hesitating. She got the vibe that most of the guys put the past behind them… the past meaning Riley and Tim, but Riley knew she still had to talk to Rizzo.

"Come on. I'll give you a ride," OC said, tempting her like he had before.

"The other girls will be there," Rammer added, having overheard part of OC's conversation with Riley.

"That's not much incentive to go," Riley mumbled. OC was the only one to hear her.

"You don't like them?" OC wondered.

"I never really got to know them," Riley said, realizing she was always too busy getting drunk and trying to hook up with someone on the team to talk to the girls.

"They're really friendly," OC said.

"Emma's not," Riley said.

"Well, last time I checked, you weren't nice to her either," OC reminded her. Then he said, "You can just hang out with us then."

"Okay, I'll go for a little bit," Riley said.

At the bar, Mac and Rammer were arguing over who was buying the first round of drinks.

"I won that bet fair and square," Mac argued.

"No. I won," Rammer said. "You just thought you won because you got_ a_ phone number."

"That was the bet," Mac said.

"The bet was to get _her _number. Her fake number doesn't count," Rammer said with a smirk. Silky was standing nearby and began laughing, giving Rammer a high five for the comment.

"I have a solution," Silky said a minute later. Riley and OC had just walked in with Bah and Buzz, and the Riley and OC were walking over to where the three teammates were standing. "Riley can buy the drinks," Silky said.

"What?" Riley asked, having heard her name but not hearing what Silky had said.

"You're buying the first round."

"Why?"

"Well because…we bought you drinks all those other times. Now you can treat us."

"I believe it's Mac's turn to buy those drinks," OC said, saving Riley. "If memory serves me correctly, he lost a bet."

"No!" Mac said. "I didn't lose the bet. I got the phone number."

Silky, OC, and Rammer, all in unison said, "A fake number doesn't count!" Riley began laughing at the exchange between the guys.

"It was still a phone number," Mac argued.

"I'd give you that," OC began, "if you weren't stupid enough to believe it was a real number. That girl pulled the oldest trick in the book."

"What'd she do?" Riley asked, having not been there the night this had all transpired.

"She gave him the number six, six, eight, four, six, two, eight," OC said. "On the dial, those numbers can also spell…" OC grabbed a napkin off a nearby table and a pen and wrote 'not in 2 u'.

Riley laughed. "How did you not recognize that?" Riley asked Mac.

"Well excuse me if I don't pay attention to the letters on the phone when I'm dialing a number."

"Well you still should have recognized it," Riley commented. "How many times have you gotten the same number?"

This made everyone roar in laughter except Mac. Mac just rolled his eyes and gave Riley the finger.

"Feisty tonight, aren't we?" Silky asked Riley. She shrugged in response.

"Hey Rizzo," OC then called out, seeing Rizzo walk in the bar. He then looked at Riley to gauge her reaction. OC knew she hadn't talk to him yet.

"I'm gonna go say hi to some of the other guys," Riley said, getting away from the group.

After Riley made her way around the bar, having successfully avoided Emma and Rizzo, she decided to try to find Rizzo. It was easier than she thought, and because he was only standing with OC, it was easy to get him away.

A slightly reluctant Rizzo followed Riley outside where they could talk without interruptions.

"Rizzo, I honestly don't know where to begin," Riley started, "but I guess I'll start with - I'm really sorry."

"What for?" Rizzo asked somewhat sarcastically.

"Everything," Riley admitted. "Most of all, I'm sorry about sleeping with Tim. I know how it must have looked to you, and I swear I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm also sorry for taking advantage of you. I never thanked you for helping me out all those times when I was drunk off my ass and too messed up to go home. You could have went to Herb, gotten my ass kicked off the staff, and you wouldn't have had to deal with me anymore, but you didn't." Riley paused and looked down at her feet. Before continuing, she looked up again and noticed Rizzo's eyes had softened compared to before.

"You're such a nice person, and I completely took advantage of everything. I didn't treat you like a friend at all, and I'm really, really sorry. I guess I'm ultimately hoping we can start over, because I think you'd make a great friend," Riley said, realizing she probably sounded pretty lame asking to start over.

"Thank you for apologizing," Rizzo said. "I'm sorry about the things I said too. I was probably a little harsh."

"Rizzo," Riley began, "you're too nice. You don't have to apologize for anything. I needed to hear what you said. I appreciate hearing the truth. I know I've been impossible to put up with from your standpoint, and you've been too nice to tell me until things were way out of control."

"Well, I forgive you," Rizzo said. "I can't say we're friends now, but I might be able to work on it." Rizzo half heard OC telling him the other night how Riley was 'different now' but he chose not to really believe it until he saw it. She would really have to prove that to him.

An hour later, only a handful of the guys were still at the bar, because most had just stopped in for one drink. OC, Silky, Mac, Mark, Bah, and Buzz were still hanging around, as was Riley and the three other girls.

"Let's play a drinking game," Silky suggested.

"What game?" Bah asked, sounding like he didn't want to play.

"I know!" Emma said. "We could play 'Never Have I Ever'."

"No," Bah said. "You always win," he told his best friend.

"Why?" Silky wondered and smirked. "Lack of experience?" he asked, eyebrows raised. Silky as well as everyone else knew the game quickly turned sexual after a few turns.

"No," Emma replied. "Because I think of really good ones." Emma then added, "But if we play now, I'll win on lack of experience. No here is as experienced as Riley." Emma made the comment with a hint of glimmer in her eyes as if she was purposefully being rude.

Bah inwardly groaned. He hadn't heard much from Riley all night, and now Emma was about to start something to change that. To his surprise, Riley didn't respond with a smart ass comeback, but just a natural sounding statement.

"I'm not playing."

"Why? Because you'll lose?" Emma asked, trying to egg the teen on.

Riley didn't take the bait, trying to be nice to Emma like OC had suggested, and simply said, "Because I'm not drinking."

"Riley, I was really joking when I said I wasn't buying you a drink," Mac said. "I only said that because you were making fun of me about the phone number. I'll go up and get you something…what do you want?"

"I'm fine, Mac really. Thank you though," Riley said with a smile.

"So, you're not drinking now that you're legal?" Kristen asked. Kristen wasn't trying to be mean, but was just really curious.

"I don't feel like it tonight," Riley said, giving part of the truth. She didn't feel the need to tell the table why she wasn't drinking.

"Oh my God!" Emma said, in a really loud voice. "You're pregnant with OC's love child, aren't you?" Everyone at the table turned to look at Emma following her drunk outburst. OC was pissed Emma put that idea into anyone's head, and everyone else was confused. Most of them were wondering if Riley being pregnant could be true. After all, she had slept with a lot of people. Everyone then turned back to Riley, waiting for a response.

"Umm… no," Riley said, giving Emma a look that said the idea was crazy. She wanted to come up with a sarcastic comment more than anything to shut Emma up and throw the remark back in her face, but decided not to. Emma's outburst may have been inappropriate, but the only comebacks Riley could think of were much worse, and OC already looked pissed.

"Is it Tim's then?' Emma asked, not wanting to give up. Mark looked at Emma now, silently telling her to stop. He knew she was a drunk, but her comments were rude and uncalled for whether she had an excuse of being drunk or not.

Riley's attempt to let Emma's remarks go went out the window. "I didn't want to tell you Emma… but since you're so insistent… it's Mark's baby." Riley said this with a serious enough look to throw Emma off, but a joking enough look to make everyone else, except Mark, laugh.

"Nice comeback," OC commented. After that, the idea for the drinking game was dead, and everyone just enjoyed conversation until they were done with their beers and ready to leave. As OC and Riley were leaving, Bah stopped them.

"Riley, I'm sorry about Emma. She can be a mean drunk," Bah explained, apologizing for his friend.

"It's not your fault, Bah. I think Emma would have been rude to me no matter what though," Riley added. "She doesn't really like me."

"She likes you," Bah said unconvincing. Kristen gave him a look that said he wasn't very believable.

"Emma just isn't used to you," Kristen said, somewhat revising Bah's statement and obvious lie. "I'm sure if she tried to get to know you, she'd realize you're a nice girl."

"Thanks, Kristen," Riley said sincerely. She hadn't been sure what Kristen or Gayle thought of her, but Kristen always seemed genuinely nice, and now Riley was pretty sure it was only Emma that had something seriously against her.

"We're gonna go," Bah said. "Thanks again for the ride over, OC."

"No problem," OC replied. Although he had driven Bah and Buzz over along with Riley, he only had to drive Riley home because Buzz was leaving with his wife and Bah with his girlfriend.

On the drive home, OC asked if Riley had fun at the bar.

"Yeah, it was fun," Riley responded, sounding truthful.

OC wanted to ask Riley why she wasn't drinking, but he didn't want to come right out and say it, so he tried to get to the question another way. "The look on Emma's face was priceless when you said you were having Mark's baby."

"The look on Mark's face was priceless too," Riley said, smiling at the memory. "I just hope he wasn't too mad at me for saying that. Emma was just really getting on my nerves. It's none of her business why I wasn't drinking."

"Yeah," OC said in agreement, though now slightly disappointed knowing he wouldn't be able to ask her himself.

"Go ahead, ask," Riley said.

"Ask what?" OC asked, taking a quick look at Riley in the passenger seat.

"I know you're curious about why I wasn't drinking. I could hear it on your voice."

"It's none of my business," OC said.

"It wasn't Emma's damn business," Riley replied. "I don't care if you know."

"Do you want to tell me?" OC asked, after Riley was quiet for a minute.

"I'm trying to take your advice seriously this time."

"My advice?"

"Yeah, it's my New Year's Resolution," Riley said.

"Taking my advice is your New Year's Resolution?" OC asked, looking really amused. "What advice was good enough to be a New Year's Resolution? And by the way, you do know it's not January first yet, right?"

"I know. But I'm starting early. And your advice was about not sleeping around… and being more careful," Riley said.

"And that has what to do with drinking?"

"When I drink I tend to go a little out of control. I know one drink would lead to more… I don't want to get drunk. Besides, tonight I realized I can have as much fun without drinking."

"Good for you," OC said sincerely, complimenting Riley on her realization and self control. A few minutes later, OC pulled into Herb's driveway to drop Riley off.

"Thanks for the ride, OC," Riley said before getting out of the car.

"Anytime, Ri," he replied. "Glad you had fun."

Riley smiled and got out of the car, then shut the door, thinking she was really glad she had a friend like OC. _Even if we do hate each other,_ she thought smirking about their typical playful banter.


	29. Chapter 28: ObLaDi, ObLaDa

meadow567: Glad you like the story and thanks for reviewing! I like your idea for a storyline. Let me know if you write it, because I'll read it. Also, I wasn't really planning to do the other apologies… I tried because I like writing things my readers want to see, but I couldn't do it without them sounding sort of lame, lol. So I included as much as I could as far as that goes.

NellieBly413672: Glad you enjoyed the chapter and that you like the new Riley. Thanks for reviewing!

Peachy65: Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

LTJM: Glad you liked the chapter and the OC/Riley part. You'll get a little more of them this chapter too, though it won't be them alone. Thanks for the review!

A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews on the last chapter! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Sorry this one took a little while to post. On top of getting ready for Thanksgiving, shopping til I dropped Friday and Saturday, and putting up the Christmas tree and decorations Sunday, I also had a case of bad writer's block... So anyway, here it finally is. One more thing - if the chapter title seems a little random... it is, lol. I've been doing all song titles so far, but I couldn't think of anything, so I went through my iPod and decided on this because it's such an upbeat and happy song, as is the mood in the majority of the chapter.

**Chapter 28: Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da**

After OC made it back to his room after dropping Riley off that night, he was surprised to find Rizzo still awake. When Rizzo left the bar earlier, OC thought it was because he was just heading back to get some rest.

"Whatcha watching?" OC asked, seeing Rizzo enthralled with something on TV.

"Eh, not much. Just a movie."

"What movie?" OC asked, giving Rizzo a grin because he knew it was obviously a movie Rizzo didn't want to admit watching.

"An Affair to Remember."

"Never heard of it," OC said, and shrugged. He wished he had known what it was, because he couldn't very well tease Rizzo if he had never heard of the movie.

"How have you never heard of it… it's only the biggest-" Rizzo stopped not really wanting to admit he was watching the biggest romantic movie of all time.

"The biggest what? The biggest fag movie of all time?" OC asked, judging from the scene that was currently on. It looked like a really emotional scene.

"Well, it is one of the cheesiest movies of all time," Rizzo said.

"Then why are you watching it? Almost any other movie has more violence, right?"

"Don't change the channel," Rizzo protested as OC grabbed the remote. He then explained. "Pam thought it would be nice for us to watch something at the same time and talk about it after."

"Aww, how cute. You guys have a date a thousand miles away," OC said, half sarcastically.

"Shut up, OC. At least I have someone to have a date with."

"What good is a date without sex?" OC asked, half joking. Then he added, "Oh yeah, you just saw her at Christmas. That means you can go another six months without sex."

"Very funny OC" Rizzo said dryly. Rizzo had gone home at Christmas, but as far as he was concerned, the two and a half days he had wasn't anywhere near long enough.

"So what's the movie about anyway?" OC asked.

"I don't even know," Rizzo answered.

"So how are you supposed to talk to Pam about this then?"

"Easy. I let her do almost all of the talking. As long as I add small things in every now and then, and I know how it ends, it's totally fine."

"Good plan."

A few minutes later, Rizzo said, "So, Riley apologized to me."

"I told you she changed."

"I didn't say she changed. I just said she apologized," Rizzo said.

"But you have to admit you saw a different side of her tonight."

"Well, she was sober… I guess that's unusual for her," Rizzo conceded.

"You should have seen her with Emma. Emma was being a complete bitch to her, and Riley was trying to be as nice as possible. Emma went overboard and Riley put her in her place."

"Good for her," Rizzo said, lacking much emotion.

"Are you still mad at Riley? 'Cause she was under the impression you forgave her."

"I'm not mad at her. I'm sick of you talking about her. It's like you have some weird crush on her or something… the way you're all buddy-buddy now," Rizzo stated.

"I do not have a crush on Riley!" OC exclaimed. "Why does everyone think that? First Silky, then Mac mentioned something, now you."

"Well, I'm not the only one that thinks it, you must be giving us all a reason to," Rizzo mumbled.

"Whatever, man. You guys just think that because we're semi-friendlyish now towards each other, I want to bang her."

"I never said you wanted to bang her, you already did that. I just said you have a crush," Rizzo pointed out.

"Same difference," OC half mumbled. "I just understand her now," OC added, speaking more clearly.

Rizzo laughed. "Again, I think that's code for I'm starting to have a thing for her."

OC shot him a look. "Shut up and watch your movie. Or I'll tell Pam you made fun of it the whole time."

"I'm sure she'll find your situation a lot more amusing," Rizzo said, putting OC in his place. Because the two knew each other for so long, Rizzo was one of the few people able to put OC in his place and not get a smart comment back.

* * *

The next morning in the locker room as the guys were getting ready to head onto the ice, Verchota rushed in late, clearly in a hurry to be on the ice on time.

"Sleep in late?" Silky commented.

"I think there's probably a reason for that," Mac said, eyeing Verchota like there was something he should be sharing with the team.

"I wasn't with anyone," Verchota sighed; I called my mom this morning to wish her a happy birthday. She kept me on the phone forever, even though I said that I had to go fifty times. Then, I got stopped by Riley on the way in. It was the weirdest conversation," Verchota said, all while trying to get his skates on as fast as possible. "Even more awkward than the conversation you have with a girl after a one night stand."

"Well, you had one of those with Riley, so I guess you're the perfect one to compare the two," Pav said with a smirk.

"What did you two talk about that made it so awkward?" Bah asked.

"She basically apologized for being a slut… not quite using those words," Verchota explained. "Is she apologizing to everyone?" he then asked.

"She apologized to me," Mac said. "I think it was sort of cute."

"You would," Silky teased him.

"No, I really did," Mac said. "It took a lot for her to admit she was wrong in what she was doing.

"Well, I thought it was weird," Verchota said, quickly throwing on his practice jersey. A few minutes later, he was ready to head to the ice at the same time as his teammates.

"Wow, you should get here late everyday!" Rammer commented. "If I could get ready as fast as you just did, I could sleep an extra half hour!"

After the game Thursday night Emma and Mark went out. The team was going out as a group again, but Mark wanted some alone time with Emma. Besides that, the other night when they went out with the guys, Emma got pretty drunk and made a fool out herself, Riley, and thereby, Mark as well. Tonight, Mark wanted to spend a nice night with the normal, sober Emma.

"What do you want to do?" Mark asked when he found Emma waiting outside the locker room.

"I don't know…what do you have in mind?"

"I'm hungry," Mark admitted with a smile. Emma smiled back, knowing he was likely to be hungry.

"Let's go to that café near the outdoor ice rink. We could go skating after… unless you're all skated out," Emma finished, realizing Mark probably wouldn't want to skate after having just spent the last few hours on skates.

"Well, skating with you is different from skating in the game."

"Are you implying I'm slow and not great at skating?" Emma joked, lightly hitting Mark in the chest.

"No, I'm actually implying I don't have to work hard. Skating for fun is relaxation," Mark said, kissing Emma on the forehead.

* * *

That night, Riley also decided to forgo going out with the team. She instead went to her family's house again to help with the moving in process. It was mainly unpacking a lot of boxes but Riley didn't mind. She realized she enjoyed spending time with her mom and siblings, and she almost felt happier when she was with them. Over the last several months, being with her family was just a reminder of everything bad that happened, but now Riley felt better being around them, because they had all gone through the same thing. She also had gotten used to Minnesota. Riley still missed Chicago and her friends, but it was getting easier. Now she felt she had friends in Minnesota too.

"Riley, I was thinking that maybe Jenna could come up to visit sometime soon. The house is almost done and we have the room for her to stay with us," Mary told her.

"Um, I don't know, Mom. She has school and everything," Riley said, coming up with the perfect excuse. She really didn't want Jenna coming to visit. When Riley went to visit her best friend a couple months before, Jenna wasn't exactly very excited to have her there. Riley could kind of understand why, because she did brag about the guys on the team an awful lot. Riley figured Jenna wouldn't want to visit her.

"Well, you girls always had that week off of school for midterms…" Mary began.

"Oh yeah," Riley said, unenthusiastically. "But that's so soon, I don't think she'd be able to get tickets that quickly." It was another pretty good excuse as far as Riley was concerned.

Mary smiled. "It would be – if you didn't get them already." From the smile on her Mom's face, Riley knew something was up. When Riley didn't say anything, her mom said, "I already spoke to Jenna's mom and she's coming up here next week for a few days."

"She's coming up here?" Riley asked, trying to hide the slightly horrified and surprised look that she was sure was o her face.

"What's wrong?" asked Mary.

"Nothing, it's okay. Thanks for doing this Mom," Riley said, trying to sound sincere. She was glad it worked, because it was a really nice gesture on her Mom's part and she didn't want her mom to think she wasn't appreciative. Riley just didn't know if it was the best idea for Jenna to visit.

* * *

After a Saturday night win, the guys went out as a team, but they decided to go bowling instead of to their usual bar. They had gone out after the other games that week, and they wanted to do something different for a change. Originally, it was supposed to be just a team bonding thing, but it turned into an invitation for the girls too.

"Riley are you coming bowling tonight?" Rammer asked her after the game.

"I thought OC said it was a guy's night or something?"

"Yeah, but the other girls are coming. Kristen, Emma, Gayle, and I think Morrow's wife. You're welcome to join us as well."

"Okay, I'll go," Riley said. She thought bowling sounded fun. She hadn't been bowling in a while, and it was different from the typical nights out at the bar. She didn't really want to have to deal with Emma, but as long as they weren't on the same lane, they wouldn't have to be near each other.

Riley hitched a ride with OC again, mainly because as of now, she felt the most comfortable around him. It wasn't that she didn't talk to or wasn't friends with the other guys, but OC seemed genuinely interested in having Riley around. Sometimes Riley got the feeling that the other guys didn't know how to act around her anymore.

Verchota, Silky, and Mac rode in the car with them. Riley happened to be sandwiched between Verchota and Silky in the backseat.

"Well, if this isn't awkward I don't know what is," Verchota commented on the seating arrangement. It just so happened that almost everyone Riley hooked up with was in the car.

"It wasn't awkward until you made it that way," Silky said back, causing everyone to laugh. "I didn't even realize it," he added, 'it' meaning the four guys in the car with Riley

"It's probably most awkward for you, Riley," Mac commented.

"Not really. I'm over it… but I can sort of see how it would be awkward for all of you," the teen replied.

"Riley, how come you didn't apologize to me?" Silky wondered, now making things awkward for the teen.

"Umm, I didn't get to you yet," she lied.

"Silky, you didn't deserve an apology," OC joked.

"Why not?"

"Because you're the one that started everything."

"If I remember correctly, Mac started it all," Silky responded, reaching to the front seat to hit Mac.

Mac turned around to try to hit Silk back.

"Don't make me pull this car over!" OC said, trying to sound like he had authority.

"Now you can see why he wanted me up front," Riley told Silk.

"There wouldn't be enough room back here for three guys," Verchota pointed out. "There's barely enough room for the two of us and you."

"Do you think I care how squished you would have been?" OC asked. "I don't need you clowns acting like five year olds."

"Riley's younger than all of us," Verchota said.

"She acts older than you," OC said. Riley smiled at that comment. It was the first time she heard anything like that from one of the guys.

"Um, weren't you the one that called her immature?" Silky asked, sounding confused. OC knew his friend was doing it on purpose. OC got the feeling Silky was jealous of his new friendship with Riley. OC wasn't sure why, because he knew Silky didn't like being just friends with girls, and he knew Silky didn't particularly like Riley, but Silky still seemed jealous. _He always seemed that way when I was dating someone too,_ OC thought. _But I always attributed that to him wanting the girls I was with. Besides, I'm not dating Riley, so why is he acting the same way as if I was?_

"Yeah, that was before," OC finally said, bringing himself out of his thoughts on Silky's apparent jealously.

"Oh yeah, that's right. You're all buddy-buddy now."

"We could be friends," Riley offered Silk.

"Um, no thanks," he said with a smile. "I don't do the friends thing."

Riley laughed. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Besides, I'm still upset I got no apology," Silky continued with a pout on his face, before turning away from her and looking out the window like he was upset. Riley knew better than to fall for that though.

"Aww, poor Silky," Riley said, patting his shoulder. She decided to tease him a little. "Okay, here it goes," Riley said, and thought for a few seconds before saying, "I'm sorry that you had to suffer through my first time having sex. The lack of me, _moaning in ecstasy_ at your skill…" with the exception of Silky, the guys chuckled and Riley continued, "the lack of getting any _real_ satisfaction yourself… the blood… "

Now the guys all went from laughing to groaning. "Ugh, Riley," Mac said, sounding disgusted.

"Too much information!" Verchota said, covering his ears with his hands.

OC just laughed in front seat, but also agreed that he didn't want to hear it by groaning with the other guys before.

"You just had to do that, didn't you?" Silky asked, giving Riley a look and shaking in head in disapproval.

"You wanted an apology," Riley pointed out.

"Next time don't listen to me!" he said, still shaking his head.

* * *

Everyone had fun bowling, but after the night was over, Mark and Emma weren't quite ready to leave each other. They really didn't get any alone time and because neither were fans of public displays of affection, especially being so early in their relationship, they hadn't done more than talk among a big group of people all night. "Want to go to my apartment and watch a movie?" Emma asked him.

"As long as you don't mind the possibility of me falling asleep. I didn't realize how tired the game made me tonight. And bowling took all the energy I had left."

"Well, you did score two goals and had an assist. Then you outscored everyone in bowling. I think you have a perfectly good excuse to be tired."

The couple went back to Emma's and decided to watch Saturday Night Live instead of a movie. Emma curled up on the couch with Mark and grabbed a blanket to share.

"You make a really comfortable pillow," she told him after resting her head on his chest.

Mark smiled down at Emma and they shared a brief kiss. They settled back in to their positions, cuddling and watching SNL. Mark quickly began dosing off, not realizing Emma had too.

A while later, Mark woke up slightly disoriented. It took him a minute to remember where he was because the living room was dark. Knowing Emma was asleep, he tried not to move much as he shifted so he could see the clock. _Five am,_ he thought, surprised that he slept that long. It was only about midnight when he fell asleep, because he didn't stay awake until the show was over.

As he contemplated whether to just stay there and try to get some more sleep or go back to the dorms, Emma stirred.

"What time is it?" she asked, not lifting her head up from Mark's chest.

"Five."

"We slept a long time," she commented.

"Yeah. I should probably go…" Mark said, trailing off because he wasn't sure whether Emma would want him to stay or go.

"You could stay," Emma pointed out. "You don't have practice tomorrow, so it's not like you need to be back for that."

"You're right," Mark said, still unsure of what he should do. He wanted to stay, but he knew would have some explaining to do the next day. Word traveled fast with the guys on the team. They would have the couple having sex before they were even certain Mark spent the night with Emma. _Oh well,_ he thought. _Who cares what they think or assume anyway?_

"We could make breakfast together," Emma suggested, as if Mark needed a reason to stay.

Mark kissed the top of Emma's head and said, "I think that sounds like a good plan."

"Are you comfortable?" she then asked.

"Yeah," Mark answered.

"Are you sure? We could go sleep in my bed. It's probably more comfortable. I can't imagine me laying on you for five hours was that enjoyable for you."

"It was nice," Mark said. "Besides, even if I was uncomfortable, I was asleep so I wouldn't have noticed. But we can spend the rest of the night in your bed if you want."

"Personally, if you're comfortable, I'd almost rather stay here. I'm too tired to move."

"Okay, let's stay here then," Mark said, and the couple quickly fell back asleep, both with a content smile on their face.


	30. Chapter 29: I'll Be There for You

meadow567: Thanks for the review! You'll have to keep reading to find out if your theory is correct…

NellieBly413672: Glad you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing!

LTJM: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked it!

A/N: I'm really really sorry this has taken so long to post. I've been super busy with the end of the semester. The good news is I'm done now, so I'll have much more time to write. The next chapter won't take anywhere near as long to post. Again, sorry it took so long and sorry the chapter is kind of short and fillerish. I already have the next one planned out, and it should be a good one!

**Chapter 29: I'll Be There for You**

The next week, Jenna flew in on Monday afternoon. She wasn't overly thrilled to see Riley, because after her best friend's visit to Chicago, she realized Riley was no longer the person she was best friends with. Jenna was however, really excited to see these guys Riley was talking about. She was expecting one of two things.

Either they would be not at all how Riley had described, but Jenna didn't think that was likely because most hockey players that she knew were like the guys Riley talked about. Or, they would be exactly what Riley described, but they wouldn't see Riley how Riley thought they saw her, which was the much more likely of the two options.

"Jenna!" Riley called over, and waved, seeing her friend walking toward her.

"Hi Riley," Jenna responded, trying to sound excited to see her.

"It's so good to see you," Riley said and gave Jenna a hug.

"Yeah, it's good to see you too."

"How's everything back home?" Riley asked, still referencing Chicago as her home. Even though St. Paul was growing on her, and things were better for her here now, Riley would always consider Chicago her home.

"Great. I can't believe Senior year is half over," Jenna said, not feeling bad at all for mentioning senior year in front of Riley. From the way Riley talked about helping with the team, Jenna didn't think Riley missed school too much anyway.

"Yeah, time's flying here too. The Olympics are only a little over a month away now." Riley paused, then, not really knowing what else to say, added, "Well, my mom's waiting in the car. Want to get going?"

"Sure. I didn't check anything, it's all in here," the brunette said, patting her duffel bag.

"Great," Riley responded, happy to be on her way out of the airport. She had a lot to do before they hung out with the team that night.

* * *

Later that evening, Riley and Jenna were heading into the dorms. The team was having a chili dinner that night, compliments of Mac's mom. According to OC, Mac's mom made six huge pots of chili when Mac went home to visit over the weekend, and she sent them all with him so he could share with the guys and give Rizzo a break from cooking.

Since there was going to be so much food, they invited the girls over as well. The girls were all told to bring something though – either a salad, beer, or a dessert. Riley opted to bring a dessert, because it was more fun than making a salad or bringing beer. The other girls were all invited too, though Riley wasn't sure who would actually show up and what they would be bringing.

"Hey Mac, hey Pav," Riley said, greeting the first two guys she saw in the hallway.

"Hey Riley," they both responded. "Who's this?" Pav asked, nodding at Jenna.

"This is Jenna, my best friend from back home." Riley didn't realize it, but Silky and Rammer had walked up behind the girls.

"Jenna is it?" Silky said, addressing Jenna using his 'flirting voice'. Both Riley and Jenna spun around to look at Silky. "I've heard so much about you," he said with the Silky smile.

Jenna looked surprised until Riley spoke up. "Jenna, this is Silky – the one I was warning you about. Don't believe anything he says."

"She warned you about me?" Silky questioned, not knowing whether to believe Riley or not.

Jenna just nodded, making it difficult for Silky to tell whether Riley indeed had told Jenna anything. Silky hoped Riley hadn't said too much, because she was cute. _Cuter than Riley at least,_ Silky thought_._

"I told her all about the things you say to get girls into your bed," Riley said. "So don't try it with Jenna. She already knows your tricks." Before Silky had chance to think of a comeback, Rammer cut in.

"I'm Rammer by the way," he awkwardly and stuck out his hand to shake Jenna's after forgetting to be introduced by Riley.

"Jenna," she said, introducing herself as she shook Rammer's hand.

"What did you bring, Riley?" Pav asked, noticing the big container Riley was holding.

"Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake," she answered easily.

Pav's eyes went wide. "I think I'll skip the chili," he said. "Cheesecake? Really?"

Riley nodded.

"Cheesecake is his favorite," Mac spoke up for Pav.

"It is," Pav confirmed.

"Hey Riley, maybe you can make it seven," Silky said with a smirk.

"Seven what?" Riley wondered, totally clueless.

Silky gave her a 'duh' look and then added, "Seven guys you've hooked up with on the team."

Instead of getting angry or letting it phase her, without missing a beat Riley said, "No, it won't be Pav tonight. I wanted to save the best for last."

Rammer and Pav laughed while Silky looked slightly defeated. Jenna looked half shocked and Mac looked like he was in deep thought.

Mac suddenly spoke up randomly, "Uh, it was six."

Everyone turned to Mac and gave him questioning looks.

"She's only hooked up with six people on the team."

"But who's counting?" Riley asked, trying to sound joking, but now really wanting to change the subject.

"You can't count Tim," Mac told Silky because he could tell Silky looked confused by the number.

"I really think that chili is heated up by now," Rammer spoke up, winking at Riley. He could tell she was getting a little uncomfortable.

Everyone was enjoying their chili dinner and talking, including Jenna. She thought the guys seemed pretty nice, and some were really cute, just like Riley had said. Jenna was also a little surprised how cool they were with Riley. It was so weird because from the things Riley said about them, Jenna really didn't think they actually liked her. They seemed to be friendly enough though, and Jenna was happy for Riley.

To Jenna it also seemed that Riley was a little different from when she came to visit her in Chicago. She seemed more like the Riley she grew up with; more like the girl she was best friends with.

"Oh my God," Emma said after taking a bite of cheesecake. "This is delicious! Rizzo, I thought meatballs were your specialty? Pam is one lucky woman," Emma added, referring to Rizzo's girlfriend.

"Meatballs are my specialty. I didn't make this," he said, taking a bite of his own piece of cheesecake.

"Who did then?" Emma asked.

"Uh, I think Riley made it," Kristen said when no one else spoke up.

Riley was waiting for a smart remark from Emma, and was surprised when Emma simply said, "It's really good."

"Thanks, Emma," Riley responded. She was shocked that Emma said something nice to her. It was the first nice comment Emma had ever made to her.

A couple other guys commented on the cheesecake, and Bah asked for the recipe.

"You're going to make me cheesecake?" Kristen asked, shocked.

"Um, no," Bah answered. "You're going to make this cheesecake for me."

"You're a genius, Bah!" Baker said. "Give Angela the recipe while you're at it," he said, motioning to his girlfriend. "You need to learn how to make cheesecake."

"Honey, I know how to make cheesecake," Angela replied. "But you being 'Mr. Health Conscious' barely touches dessert," she added sarcastically.

"I indulge every once in a while," Baker said with a smile.

"Then let me know the next time you're planning on '_indulging_'. I'll make you cheesecake."

"He's planning on indulging at the next team dinner," Rammer spoke up, half kidding.

* * *

"So your friends are interesting," Jenna commented once the girls were in Riley's room at her house. It was after two in the morning and the girls were talking like old times when they had sleepovers. Sometimes the girls would stay up most of the night, just having 'girl talk'.

"Interesting good or interesting bad?" Riley asked.

"I liked them," Jenna answered. "They seem like really nice guys. I was surprised…"

Riley noticed that it sounded like Jenna was going to say something else but changed her mind and ended the sentence instead.

"You were surprised they were nice?" Riley asked.

"Well, no," Jenna said. "You all seemed to get along well," Jenna said, half changing the subject. Jenna wasn't about to tell Riley that she was surprised they were actually friends with Riley.

"They're cute, aren't they?" Riley asked, her eyes with a little glimmer in them. Just because she was through throwing herself at them didn't mean she stopped looking. Riley wasn't blind. She knew they were good looking.

"Yeah," Jenna admitted, smiling herself.

"Who do you think the cutest is?"

"I don't know," Jenna said. "I can't remember all of their names," she laughed. Then she asked, "Who's the one with the dark hair that we were talking to in the hallway earlier?"

"Uh, multiple guys fit that description," Riley said. "Is he from Boston?" Riley couldn't even remember who they talked to when. She just knew she could narrow it down by eliminating the Boston or Minnesota half of the team.

"No, not Rizzo," Jenna said, knowing who Rizzo was. "I think his first name might be Mike though."

"Rizzo's first name is Mike," Riley said. Then, "Oohhh, you mean Rammer?"

"Yeah! That's it," Jenna said. "He's cute. So is that guy whose mom made all the chili."

"Mac."

"Yeah, he's cute too. They're both funny."

"You like the tall dark and handsome type, don't ya?" Riley said.

"So who have you… ya know… slept with or whatever?" Jenna asked to get the subject off of her. Although Jenna didn't agree with Riley's sleeping around, she was curious as to put faces to the guy's Riley was with.

Riley's face turned red at Jenna's question. She really wanted to move past this and Jenna wasn't exactly helping.

"Well, I only slept with two of them. Okay, actually three if you count the guy that was only on the team for a week. And, I guess maybe three. I don't exactly remember the one night," Riley said, looking down to avoid eye contact with her friend. It sounded much worse saying it out loud than it ever did otherwise.

"How was it?" Jenna asked. "If you don't mind me asking," she then added.

"Umm, I'd rather not talk about it," Riley said. "It's not something I'm exactly proud of."

"Oh, sorry," Jenna mumbled. She didn't think Riley seemed at all embarrassed last time they talked, so Jenna thought it was weird that she was acting funny about it now. Last time it seemed like Riley was bragging about sleeping around.

"I shouldn't have done it," Riley said, further explaining herself, even though she said she didn't want to talk about it. "I realized that I was just filling what was missing in my life with meaningless sex."

"Did the one night stands make things awkward between you and the guys?" Jenna wondered.

"No. Now they tease me about it a little, as you could probably tell from hearing Silky talk earlier. I just ignore them when they're being jerks."

"It doesn't seem like that happens often though. They seem to like you hanging out with them."

"Yeah, I think they do," Riley agreed. She knew a few of the guys liked having Riley around, and although she wasn't so sure about the other guys at times, she hoped they did too.

"So how're things going with your boyfriend?" Riley asked Jenna, knowing last time they talked Jenna was dating someone.

"We broke up."

"Sorry, Jenna," Riley said, now sorry she asked.

"It was mutual. Things just weren't working out. I think he wanted someone more his age. People say a couple years isn't a big deal, but high school to college is – at least to me."

"I get it," Riley said, understanding. She knew from experience that the guys on the team saw her as 'just a kid' for a while. It was tough to get them to see her as their age, because she wasn't in college.

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" asked Jenna, changing the subject.

"Well, I thought we'd go shopping. There's a nice mall pretty close by. Later on, maybe a movie with some of the guys. It'll depend on who's going. As of right now, Mark and Emma are going, and if they go and there's not enough other people to buffer, we won't be going."

"What's wrong with them?"

"Me and Emma don't get along," Riley said. "At all. Even when I try to be nice, she finds something to argue about, and I'm sick of it."

"She didn't seem that bad," Jenna said.

"That's because she avoided us," Riley pointed out. Emma barely spoke to them all night. Jenna and Emma weren't even really introduced for that reason.

* * *

The next night, Riley and Jenna did end up going to the movies, but only OC, Rammer, Mac and Rizzo went. After a long debate, they decided to see _Dressed to Kill_ over _The Exterminator_. OC and Mac wanted to see the later, but Riley and Rammer out voted them. It was actually even, but Riley convinced Jenna to side with her. Rizzo wouldn't vote.

The group of six went to dinner before the movie, and they happened to see Kristen and Bah walk into the restaurant just after they sat down.

"Want to join us?" OC asked when Bah stopped at the table to say hi.

"Uhhh," Bah began, stealing a glance at Kristin. They were supposed to be having a nice dinner together and he wasn't sure if she would mind sitting with his friends.

"Yeah, we'll join you," Kristin said with a smile. "But OC, this has nothing to do with your presence," she said as she pulled out an empty chair to sit down. "It's only because Riley and Jenna are here and I wouldn't be the only girl."

Bah sat down next to Kristin and pretty soon it was clear the seating arrangement had to be changed. The guys were all trying to talk to each other while the girls were attempting a conversation as well. Because they were intermixed at the table, everyone's voices were competing and hearing was difficult.

"Bah, switch seats with me," Kristen said. "And Rammer and Jenna switch. I don't want to shout across the table anymore."

After everyone was settled in their new seats, Kristin continued talking to Riley and Jenna. "You would think they see each other enough at practice."

"You would think they talk about hockey more than enough every other waking moment to be able to refrain from talking about it at dinner too," Riley added. She knew they were talking about the Boston-Minnesota game coming up in a couple of nights. It was the big talk on the team the past few days because of the Boston-Minnesota rivalry that still sort of existed between the guys. The guys had a game themselves that same evening, but afterwards everyone was planning on getting together to watch the game that was taking place in Boston.

"Bah's lucky to have such an understanding girlfriend," Kristin said, talking about herself in the third person. She spoke loud enough that Bah heard her.

"What's that?" he asked, not knowing the context of the girl's conversation.

"I'm really understanding about your need to eat, sleep, and breathe hockey. There are many girls who probably wouldn't be able to handle it," Kristin said, though just teasing her boyfriend. She liked giving him a hard time.

"And I'm incredibly thankful for your understanding," Bah said with a smile. "We didn't have to eat with the guys tonight though."

"No, but we're in the same restaurant, so why not? Besides, if we didn't you'd find an excuse to come over to talk to them anyway, and then I'd be left at the table alone."

"I would have devoted my complete attention to you," Bah argued.

"Yeah, okay," Kristin said, her undertone saying 'Yeah, right.' She rolled her eyes at Riley and Jenna who laughed.

"Part of the problem is you girls anyway," OC commented. "Girls always try to gang up on guys. They're constantly gossiping about guys and thinking of ways to make their lives miserable."

"Oh, yeah, we make your lives so miserable," Riley said sarcastically. "While we do everything possible to please guys. Did you know that 74 percent of the time, the husband initiates the sex and the wife just goes with it because she wants her husband to be happy?"

"That's a lie," Mac commented.

"I think she's probably right," Rizzo said in agreement.

"74 percent?" Rammer asked, wondering how Riley came up with that number.

"Rizzo, you're not even married," Mac commented. "How would you know if Riley's right?"

"I think that whole notion probably stretches to couples in general. I'm sure Bah will back me."

"Even I'll back you on that," Kristin told Rizzo, and smiled at her boyfriend.

"I never force you to have sex," Bah said.

"Riley didn't say force. She said the girls aren't always in the mood, but they do it anyway."

"74 percent?" Rammer said again, as if he wasn't heard earlier.

"Yeah, I read it in the newspaper."

"They put stuff like that in the newspaper?" OC wondered.

"Yeah, it was some new study on relationships or something," Riley said.

"I didn't see it," OC said.

"Do you read the paper?" Riley countered.

"Yes."

"Well, then clearly you missed it. It was in yesterday's paper."

"Riley," Jenna said, now speaking up after having previously been pretty quiet. "You forgot to mention it wasn't in the sport section." Jenna looked at OC and smiled at her wittiness.

"Very funny, Jenna," OC commented dryly. "But I do read other sections besides sports."

"That's surprising. I thought you only understood the language of sports," Jenna said with her comeback.

"Riley, Jenna's almost as good as you with the comebacks," Mac commented.

"You're clever, Jenna," OC said.

Once the group finished at the restaurant they made their way to the theater with the exception of Bah and Kristin who had other plans.

* * *

The next day, it was time for Jenna to leave Minnesota. Riley went into the airport with her to see her off. While they were waiting for the plane to begin boarding, Jenna and Riley had a conversation about the last few days.

"I had a lot of fun, Riley," Jenna told her friend. "I'll admit I wasn't that excited to come out here, but I'm glad I did."

"I'm glad you did too. I just wish you could stay a few more days."

"Me too." The girls sat a few more minutes until the flight attendant called for the passengers to board the plane.

"Well, guess that's my cue."

"Hopefully see you soon, Jenna," Riley said, standing up with Jenna who was getting her stuff together.

The girls hugged and said their goodbyes. "Maybe you can come to Chicago again soon," Jenna suggested.

"That'd be nice."

"Riley," Jenna said, and paused before continuing. "It seems like you're doing a lot better now." Jenna was talking about Riley's coping with her dad's death.

"I am," Riley said with a small smile.

"I'm really glad. I was sort of worried." Jenna paused for a few seconds and then said, "If you ever need anything, I'm only a phone call away."

"Yeah, I could probably call long distance for free from Herb's office if I really wanted," Riley said, smiling, not entirely sure that was true. Then, more seriously, Riley said, "I know you've always been there for me Jenna. I can always count on you."

"Bye Riley," Jenna said, and gave her best friend a hug once more before leaving to get on the plane.


	31. Chapter 30: Get Me Some

NellieBly413672: Thank you so much for reviewing! Glad you liked the chapter and hope you like this one too.

A/N: Here's another chapter! Please review – I love hearing what you think. Also, I'm nearing the end of the story, and I'd sort of like to know your thoughts on Riley and the different couples – I have a few ideas bouncing around in my head, but I'd rather write in what you guys want to see happen…

**Chapter 30: Get Me Some**

January was moving along and the guys were now a month away from the games. One evening, they had a big game against the IHL All-Stars. Everyone knew it was a big test, and it would probably be their toughest opponent before the games, but they were confident. At this point, no one except Herb knew about the team was playing the Soviets a few days before the Lake Placid.

Going into the game that night, the guys all thought they would play pretty well, and they had high hopes, but after a scoreless first period, they realized the game would be tougher than they originally thought. The second period, both teams came out stronger, and the second period ended in with the opposing team leading three to two.

"Let's kick it up a notch, boys," Rizzo commented on the way to the dressing room. "We need to get more shots off. It's the only way we're going to score." Rizzo himself had been playing extremely hard that night, even though he wasn't getting much time in the game. He was on the fourth line that night, but so far he was reaching his goal of taking at least one shot on every shift. He knew the only way he would start scoring was if he started taking shots when he had a chance.

The team worked hard again in the third period, however they weren't able to pull off a win. The game ended in a four-four tie, leaving them slightly disappointed. A tie was better than a loss, but they had really hoped to prove themselves that game. Now they only had four games left before the Olympics.

That night the Bruins were playing the North Stars in Boston, so the guys quickly forgot about their game and got excited about the NHL game they would be watching at the dorms. Since they took a bus to the arena, everyone was trying to hurry up the slowpokes because they wanted to catch as much of the Boston-Minnesota game as possible. Since their game began early in the evening, at five, they were hoping to have only missed the first period.

"If you don't hurry we're leaving without you!" Mac called to OC and Silky. "You two pretty boys are taking way too long. There's no need to spend an hour getting ready to go lounge at the dorms."

"Well, I know why OC's taking forever," Verchota joked. "Riley's gonna be there." A few of the guys laughed. Luckily OC hadn't heard the joke, because he got really defensive every time someone hinted at him having a crush on Riley.

"Silky, there won't be any girls there for you so you don't need to try to look all good!" Mac shouted.

* * *

A while later the team was finally in the dorms watching the game. At the end of the second period, the score was two to three with Minnesota leading.

"Riley who are you cheering for?" Verchota asked at one point, confused because she was pretty quiet when Minnesota scored the go ahead goal.

"Boston. Obviously."

"What?" Buzz said, sounding surprised. "You can't be serious!"

"Why not?"

"Traitor," Mac told her.

"How am I a traitor?" Riley asked, reaching for the bowl of popcorn that was on a table in front of her.

"You're from the Midwest and cheering for Boston."

"She's only cheering for Boston because OC's from Boston," Rammer joked so only Mac could hear him. OC and Riley happened to be sitting next to each other.

"That doesn't make me a traitor," Riley told Mac. "I like the Bruins."

"But you're from Chicago. Chicago is closer to Minnesota than Boston," Mac told her.

"So, Canada is even closer. Do you think that means I should cheer for Team Canada in the Olympics?"

"Um, no because you live in the United States," Mark told her.

"Well, you get the point," Riley said. She then said, "I don't like hicks or farms. Boston is a big city like Chicago."

"The Twin Cities are two cities," Mac pointed out, trying to be smart. "And we're not all hicks."

"Yes you are all country boy hicks," Riley said, and looked at OC, both of them laughing.

"She's right," Silky said, speaking up.

"I still say you're a traitor," Mac said.

In the third period, Boston quickly scored to tie it up once again.

"Damn it!" Verchota cursed while Riley and everyone from Boston was cheering. "What the fuck was Hartsburg doing?"

"Shit!" Mac also swore. "They're always making things more difficult for themselves than necessary." Now they needed another goal to win the game.

With three minutes left in the third, Minnesota took a penalty.

"Fuck!" Verchota shouted.

"Terrible call, Ref!" Rammer shouted at the TV as if the referee would be able to hear him.

"Guys, Boston's power play is terrible," Mac pointed out. "There's no reason to worry."

Fifteen seconds into the five on four, Boston scored.

"Way to jinx it, Mac," Buzz commented.

"Eat your words!" Rizzo said pointing at Mac and laughing.

Mac threw a piece of popcorn at Rizzo. "Crap!" Riley went around the room giving high fives to OC, Rizzo, Silky, Jimmy, and Coxy, who were all cheering for Boston.

With a stoppage in play near the Minnesota net and only five seconds left, everyone knew Minnesota wouldn't get another shot off, let alone score to tie it up.

"Well this was a terrible day for hockey," Verchota said, speaking of their own team's tie earlier in the evening and Minnesota's loss.

"Told you Boston would kill them," Silky said, mainly to Rammer.

"I hardly call a one goal differential 'killing' them," Rammer said back.

"We won. That's all that matters," Silky said.

* * *

Two weeks before the Olympics were to start, Cox was called to see Herb one day after practice, and it sank in that this was it – the Olympics were really almost here. There was a silence that came over the locker room; the team knew Cox would be the last cut. Although they were sad to see their teammate, a friend, go, they were also relieved that they were now in the clear. Not that Herb couldn't pull another 'Tim Harrer' on them, but they all knew he wouldn't, not after the talk a few of them had with their coach weeks before.

"Well, as much as I hate to see him go," OC began, "I think we can be thankful we're all here." The guys silently nodded in agreement. No one wanted to seem too excited, but they all were, knowing they were definitely on the team. Rizzo was especially relieved. For the past several weeks, he really thought he would be cut from the team. He knew Herb didn't think he was good enough to be there. Rizzo tried to show Herb that he was meant to be there by working extremely hard, but until that day, he wasn't sure if it worked.

* * *

Later that week, Riley came in the locker room after practice, looking for Rizzo.

"He was in the shower a minute ago," OC told her. "Why do you need him?" he then asked, sounding concerned. Being Rizzo's roommate, OC knew how insecure Rizzo was about his abilities on the ice. OC tried to say things to keep Rizzo's head up, but it didn't always work that well.

"Herb wants to talk to him," Riley responded. Within a second, Rizzo was out of the shower, barely having had wrapped the towel around him.

"What does he want?" Rizzo asked, sounding very concerned and almost worried. He thought his spot was safe, but why did Herb want to talk to him then? Rizzo knew he hadn't played as well that day in practice. He thought he was coming down with something, but instead of missing practice he decided to fight through it. Now he wasn't so sure that had been a good idea.

"It's nothing," Riley said with an encouraging smile. She knew Rizzo was nervous. Even though the last cut had been made, Riley knew Rizzo was still on edge and questioning his abilities.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. You have nothing to worry about Rizzo."

Rizzo was still a little nervous, mainly because even if he wasn't getting cut from the team, Herb was probably going to reap him out for his poor performance in practice today, and Rizzo hated Herb's negative comments. After getting dressed as quickly as possible, Rizzo ran up to Herb's office. He was out of breath when he got there, so he paused for a few seconds before going in.

"You wanted to talk to me, Coach?" Rizzo said hesitantly.

"Sit down Rizzo," Herb said, sounding serious.

Rizzo sat down and looked at his Coach, almost afraid of what was going to be said. Herb instantly picked up on this and decided to joke around with the hockey player a little.

"Do you know why I brought you in here?" Herb asked, sounding as serious as he possibly could. Since he always sported a serious look, it wasn't that difficult to keep it there.

"Well, I um… I had a rough practice today," Rizzo admitted, knowing Herb already knew the obvious.

"You did?" Herb asked, sounding to Rizzo as if he didn't realize it.

"Well, yeah," Rizzo said looking down at the floor.

"And why was that?" Herb asked, curiously.

"Well, I don't want to make excuses, but I wasn't feeling all that well."

"It looked like you were trying pretty hard out there," Herb commented.

"Well, yeah," Rizzo said with a shrug.

"I didn't call you in here to comment on your playing today, Rizzo," Herb said.

"You didn't?"

"I wanted to compliment you on your hard work over the past several months."

"Oh," Rizzo said, sounding almost surprised.

"You always give your best effort, you do whatever I ask, and you never give up. Besides that, you're a real leader on and off the ice."

Rizzo didn't know what to say to the compliments but ended up managing a "Thanks."

"Rizzo, I want to name you Team Captain."

Rizzo tried to keep his jaw from dropping. He never expected Herb to want to name him captain. Just last week, Rizzo thought he would be the last one cut. _Heck, even today I thought I might still get cut,_ Rizzo thought. He then realized Herb was waiting for a response. "Thank you Coach. It would be an honor."

"I know you can do it," Herb said, standing up from his chair and holding out his hand to shake Rizzo's. The captain stood and shook his coach's hand, thanked him again, and left the office with a lasting grin on his face.

* * *

When Rizzo got back to his room, he was surprised that not only his roommate was in the room, but Riley was there too. They were sitting on OC's bed looking at what Rizzo thought were pictures or something. Normally Rizzo would have been more interested to know why Riley was there, but he was too happy to be brought down by Riley's presence.

"What's that grin for, Rizzo?" OC asked.

"I'm not getting cut!" Rizzo said excitedly.

"Well, duh," OC said. "Cox was the last cut."

"But it's not set in stone until we're in Lake Placid. Herb could still change the roster."

OC wanted to argue, because he thought Herb finalized the roster and it was pretty much set in stone, barring any extenuating circumstances, but he could tell Rizzo didn't want to argue. Instead, OC asked, "Why are you so sure then?"

"I was just named Captain!" Rizzo said with a proud smile on his face.

"Man, that's awesome! Congratulations," OC said, giving his friend a hug and pat on the back. Riley stood back for minute, but went over to hug Rizzo when OC was done.

"Congrats, Rizzo. You deserve it," Riley said. Once she pulled out of the hug, she added, "See, I told you it was nothing to worry about."

"Did you know?" Rizzo asked.

"Not exactly, but I had a really good feeling that was why he wanted to talk to you."

After the three talked for a few minutes, Rizzo asked, "So why are you here?"

"We're going to get food," Riley said. "Want to come?"

"The two of you are going to get food?" Rizzo asked, sounding a little surprised. He raised his eyebrows at OC, silently asking for an explanation. "Alone?" he asked further, when neither Riley nor OC responded. The reason they hadn't replied was because they thought Rizzo's question was rhetorical. They had just told him they were getting food, so why did he ask.

"No, Mac, Pav, Bah, Silky, and Rammer are all going," OC said.

"Oh, okay," Rizzo said, as if he now understood and was relieved.

"Would it have mattered if we were going alone?" Riley asked, picking up on Rizzo's relief.

"Um, no. I guess not," Rizzo said, though thinking differently.

"Riley I have to show you this one," OC said, going back over to his bed, now half ignoring Rizzo's presence. Riley walked over to see what OC had and sat back down next to him.

"That's cool," Riley said, enthusiastically, looking at another of OC's hockey cards. He had a collection of trading cards. Most were Bruins players, but he had other really good players too. The card Riley was looking at now was his tenth Bobby Orr card.

"Rizzo, she's a Bobby fan," OC said, sounding happy that Riley shared an interest in his favorite hockey player.

Rizzo didn't need to ask 'Bobby who?' because the only Bobby OC talked about on a regular basis was Bobby Orr.

"Really?" Rizzo half asked, not sounding nearly as excited as OC.

"Recently converted," Riley corrected OC, since he made it seem like she'd been a long time fan. She wasn't a fan until he became a Blackhawk in '76.

"How awesome," Rizzo said, trying to show his fake enthusiasm.

"I think it is," OC said.

"You would," Rizzo muttered.

OC turned back to Riley. "I have something else you'll really appreciate." OC looked through several cards before stopping at one and holding it up so Riley couldn't see it yet.

"Are you gonna show me?" Riley asked.

"Guess," OC told her.

"I don't know," Riley said. "Another Orr?"

OC turned the card so Riley could see it. When Riley saw the Pierre Pilote card in OC's hand, she got really excited. "Oh my God! That's awesome." She took it from OC to have a closer look and noticed it was signed. "Where did you get this signed?"

"I was in Chicago for a family vacation in '64 and my dad and I went to a Blackhawks versus Bruins game while my mom and sister went shopping. After the game the Blackhawks were doing this promotional thing signing autographs, and since I had the Pilote card and I was a fan, I wanted his autograph."

"That's so cool," Riley said. "He's the best defenseman ever," she added. He'd been on the All-Star team seven years in a row and won the Norris trophy three years in a row too.

"He's second behind Orr," OC corrected Riley.

"They're tie," Riley suggested.

"Alright," OC conceded.

"I'm gonna go see what the other guys are doing," Rizzo said, though he wasn't even sure Riley and OC heard him. It was like they were in their own little world.

* * *

"What's up Rizzo?" Silky asked when Rizzo joined a group of guys watching TV in the common room. Silky noticed Rizzo looked a little upset about something.

"OC and Riley make me sick," Rizzo commented, taking a seat on the couch.

"What are they doing now, necking or something?" Silky asked, not at all sounding surprised at the possibility he was suggesting.

"No, but they're all buddy-buddy. It's like they're best friends now."

"Are you jealous Rizzo?" Verchota asked.

"Yeah, losing your best friend to a girl…" Mac added for Verchota.

"And they're not even together. They're just friends," Pav noted.

"Yeah, that's what they say anyway," said Silky, acting as if he didn't believe it.

"Come on Silky. There's nothing going on between them," Pav said.

"Wanna bet? If there's nothing going on now, there will be soon enough."

"Guys and girls can just be friends," Bah, who had previously been quiet, said.

Silky looked at Bah and raised his eyebrows. "We're talking about OC, not you. OC's like me. 'Just friends' doesn't really exist for him."

"Yeah it does," Rizzo reminded him. "Remember Maureen?"

"Eh, that doesn't count," Silky said. Rizzo was about to argue but Bah interrupted.

"So who am I like then?" Bah asked, wondering what Silky meant when he implied that Bah wasn't like Silky and OC.

"I dunno, Silky said with a shrug. "Clearly not like me," he added with a smirk.

"Watch it!" Bah said, elbowing Silky. "I'm the one with a hot girlfriend," he said matter-of-factly.

"Unless she's good in the sack, it doesn't matter how hot she is."

Bah gave Silky a look as if saying he wasn't going to answer Silky's question that wasn't really a question. Bah knew what Silky wanted though.

"So is she?" Silky asked after Bah didn't say anything for a minute. Enough time had passed though so no one knew what he was referring to.

"Is who what?" asked Mac.

"Is Kristen good in bed?" Silky asked Bah.

"I'm not talking about this," Bah said.

"Why not?" asked Silky. "That either means she's really good, or you haven't done it yet." Silky paused, then continued, "And I'm going with option one because I know you guys had to have had sex."

"Why is it so important for you to know?" Bah asked.

"Because he wants to live vicariously through other people," Verchota answered. "Since Silky's not getting any, he feels the need to hear about other people's sex lives."

"I think he's just nosy," Mac said.

"No, I'm just curious. Most hot girls are good in bed, and Kristen's hot so…" Silky said, trailing off.

"Can we go back to the topic of OC and Riley?" Bah joked.

"Speak of the devil," Verchota began, seeing OC and Riley who had just walked in the common room area.

"Are we ready to go?" asked OC, having no idea he was the recent topic of conversation.

"Are you still hungry?" Silky asked with a smirk. Neither OC nor Riley picked up on the dirty nature of the comment, however Mac and Phil did right away and began laughing.

"I'm starving," Riley said.

"I guess OC wasn't all that satisfying then," Phil joked, but only so Mac and Silky could hear the comment.

"Well, I'm ready," Rizzo said, standing up and ready to go. He wanted to avoid any awkwardness that was sure to surface. The large group then followed Rizzo's initiative to leave.

* * *

The same night, Mark and Emma went out for something to eat as well. After dinner they decided to go back to Emma's apartment and watch TV for a while. The couple quickly became bored with what was on TV though and began making out on the couch. Mark wanted to take things a bit farther, but he wasn't sure how far Emma would let him go. He didn't want to push things too far and risk Emma getting angry at him again, but he figured if he went slow enough, Emma would just stop him without getting mad.

Mark also wasn't sure how far he wanted to go himself. Sure he was a guy and liked sex just as much as any other guy, but he also considered himself somewhat old fashioned. Sex meant something to Mark and aside from being respectful to Emma, he wanted their first time to be special and sure it meant something to both of them. That didn't mean Mark wanted to keep things G-rated though.

While kissing Emma, Mark shifted his body so Emma was lying underneath him. After a minute of kissing like this, Mark decided to test the waters as he moved his hands from Emma's hips up and under her shirt. Emma responded by kissing Mark harder and wrapping her legs around him.

After making out a few minutes, and getting to what Silky and Verchota considered 'second base' Mark pulled away. He knew, and he was pretty sure Emma could tell as well, he needed a break if they weren't going to go much farther.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" Emma asked as the couple was lying on the couch together. "We can sleep in my bed this time," she added with a smile. Last time they spent the entire night on the couch.

"I think I'd like that," Mark said, smiling at Emma. He gave Emma a quick kiss on the lips and then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

The couple laid together for a while and talked before deciding to play the _Stop Thief_ game Bah had given Emma for Christmas. It was well after midnight when Mark and Emma decided they were tired enough to head to bed, but even then they ended up laying awake talking for a couple of hours.

The more the couple talked, the more Emma realized how much she liked Mark. Their conversation came so easily, and Emma felt like she could tell Mark anything. Emma also felt like she could completely be herself around Mark. The only other guy Emma completely opened up to like that was Bah, but that was because they were best friends. Emma never felt like that with a guy she dated before. Aside from being able to just be herself, Emma was also very physically attracted to Mark. Every time they kissed, Emma felt an almost electric feeling through her body.

Emma tried to remind herself that she was mainly feeling these things because their relationship was so new, but it was difficult to convince herself that was the only reason she felt this way about Mark. She just hated the thought that all of this could be over in a month after the Olympics were over, which was why she even tried justifying her feelings in the first place.

* * *

Meanwhile, the guys and Riley decided to hang out at a bar for a while after dinner. They wanted to have a few beers, shoot some pool, and play darts. A few of the guys were also hoping to pick up some girls while they were at it.

The guys didn't have to try all that hard to get girls to come to them. They had all been wearing their USA Hockey jackets that night which was basically an invitation for women to introduce themselves.

At one point, four girls had been hanging around the guys and shamelessly flirting with them. Everyone except Bah and Rizzo were flirting back.

"What's wrong with your friends?" one of the girls with long dirty blonde hair asked OC. She leaned toward him and added, "They're both just talking to that ugly redhead."

OC casually wrapped his arm around the beautiful girl and said, "That cute little redhead is our friend." After defending Riley, OC continued and said, "Both of those guys have girlfriends. If they talked to you, they'd be too tempted to do something they'd regret."

The blonde giggled and pulled OC closer. She rested her free hand on his upper thigh. "But there's nothing you would regret is there?" she asked with a sly smile.

"No not at all," OC said, bringing his face close to the girl's. Silky interrupted their moment when he walked over to the table, his arm around one of the girl's waists. The two had been dancing moments before.

"Hey OC, we're gonna get going. Don't bother sending a search party when you're ready to leave and can't find me."

The girl that was hanging on Silky giggled just like the girl that was flirting with OC had minutes before. Bah heard her and just looked at Rizzo and rolled his eyes. Riley caught the look and began laughing a little.

"Those girls are ridiculous," Riley said to Rizzo and Bah, who she had spent quite a bit of time with that evening. The rest of the guys were too busy flirting with the bimbos to chat with Riley and the guys that were already taken.

"Yeah," Bah said, agreeing. "They're hot as hell, but they're also so incredibly dumb!"

"I'm honestly surprised OC is going for it," Rizzo said. "He's not really into that type."

"He's looks pretty into her if you ask me," Riley said, looking over at OC who was now holding the girl on his lap. Rizzo was a little surprised because he didn't sense any jealousy in Riley's tone. He thought Riley and OC really had a thing for each other. Bah picked up on Rizzo's confusion and just shrugged. He didn't get what was going on either.

The three then observed the other two girls that were with Rammer, Phil, Mac and Pav. That was sort of awkward as well, because there clearly wasn't enough to go around.

"At least those girls aren't acting as dumb as their friends," Riley pointed out. Unlike the two girls that were hanging on OC and Silky, the other two weren't giggling at everything the guys said and flipping their hair every five seconds. They were flirting, but not acting like bimbos while doing it.

"Why did we agree to come here?" Bah asked, half talking to himself.

"We thought we were going to play some pool and darts with the guys," Rizzo answered anyway.

"Then let's not let them stop us," Riley said. "Why don't we play a game of pool? Table's open."

"Okay," Bah said. "You in, Rizzo?"

"Sure, why not?" he said and stood to join Bah and Riley.

A few minutes later, just after the three started their game, OC walked over - alone.

"Where's 'Fuck me Barbie?'" Riley asked, teasing OC. She didn't wait for a response but turned her back to him as she faced the pool table to decide where she was taking her next shot

"By the door, waiting for me," OC said as he stood behind Riley and grabbed her shoulders, squeezing them almost like he was giving the teen a quick massage.

"Don't tell me you're actually leaving with her," Riley said, "because that's hypocritical."

"Hypocritical?" OC questioned, not knowing where Riley was going with that.

"Uh, yeah, Mister don't sleep with someone not worth the risk," Riley said, mocking OC's past advice to her.

"Whether she's worth the risk or not is for me to judge," OC said.

At this point, Rizzo and Bah just shared a look, wondering what Riley and OC were talking about.

"OC, she's like barely human," Riley said. "And her boobs are totally fake."

"Again, that's something I'll have to figure out myself," OC said with a smirk.

"You're disgusting!" Riley said, half joking.

"Well, if you don't want me to sleep with her, I'll need a better offer."

"A better offer?" Riley asked, her eyebrows raised.

Neither OC or Riley noticed the same looks on Rizzo and Bah's faces.

"Yeah," OC told Riley.

"Like what? You want me to find you a better girl in this bar?"

"Not really," OC said.

"Cuz it wouldn't be that difficult," Riley said, not having paid attention to what OC last said.

"I don't want to go home with some other girl," OC said.

"Then what do you want?" Riley wondered.

"To leave with you," OC said easily.

"Excuse me?" Riley asked, sounding very surprised. Bah and Rizzo had looks on their faces that matched Riley's tone. "Sorry, OC, but I already went down that street once, and I'm not doing it again."

OC laughed. "I didn't mean it like that. I don't want to sleep with you. I'm kind of hungry. If you treat me to ice cream, I won't go home with the girl." Riley looked over to the door of the bar, and saw that the girl was looking pretty impatient.

"If I buy you ice cream, you won't sleep with her?" Riley wondered. Before OC could answer, Riley added, "What are you, a girl?" She then explained, "I don't know any guy that would ever choose ice cream over sex. Ever."

OC shrugged. "Well, I'd rather have ice cream."

"Okay, whatever. I'm heading to the bathroom. If you're still here when I come back, we'll go get ice cream," Riley said, still thinking OC would be gone when she got back.

"What the hell was that about?" Bah wondered as soon as Riley was gone.

"I just wanted free ice cream."

"Instead of sex?" Rizzo wondered, clearly confused.

"No. I wasn't going to sleep with that walking STD anyway," OC said. "She admitted she slept with three guys in the past week. And get this - she actually told me not to be concerned if I saw any 'weird looking bumps down there'. She said they're nothing to worry about," OC said and laughed. "The girl has the IQ of a seven year old." Bah and Rizzo laughed.

"Excuse me for a second. I have to tell her I won't be joining her," OC said.

"Why did you waste all that time flirting with her in the first place?" Rizzo asked.

"Because flirting is fun. And I didn't decide that I wasn't sleeping with her right away," OC said, as if Rizzo should have already known the answer to the question he asked.

"Why did you even leave her standing there if you decided not to sleep with her?" Bah asked.

"I was going to get myself ice cream somehow. Even if it was with 'Fuck me Barbie'," OC said, using Riley's nickname for the girl. Bah and Rizzo just looked at each other and shook their heads as OC walked to where the girl was standing.


	32. Chapter 31: Don't Stop

LTJM: Thanks for reviewing – glad you liked it! Hope you enjoy this chapter too.

penelopeparish: Thanks for reviewing! I try to make to dialogue is realistic as possible, but sometimes it's tough because I'm obviously a girl. lol But I'm glad you like it. Thanks for your thoughts and OC and Riley too!

justlivenletlive: Glad you liked the chapter and thanks for reviewing. Also, thanks for your view and OC and Riley. Hope you like this chapter!

meadow567: Thanks for the review and your opinion on OC and Riley's relationship. What a coincidence that he played for the Hawks, lol. Hope you like this chapter.

NellieBly413672: Thanks for the review and your thoughts on OC and Riley. I basically feel the same way, lol. That's why I needed readers input – I'm too indecisive. Thanks again and enjoy the chapter.

A/N: Again, thanks so much to everyone for the reviews! I love reading them and it was nice to hear everyone's opinions and ideas. Please keep the reviews coming, they're really appreciated! And thanks again for all the thoughts on OC and Riley. I am taking everything you guys said into consideration, and thanks to you, I know exactly what I'm doing with that aspect of the story now. One more thing, I don't know if I've mentioned this, but the hockey information (as far as the games played, opponents, and final scores) is all true. The goal scorers and dates of the games are mostly my creative license. If anyone is interested in the site for your own stories/knowledge, the link is Anyway, on with the chapter.

**Chapter 31: Don't Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow)**

It was now the beginning of February, ten days before the opening ceremonies, and everyone on the team and coaching staff were getting really excited and also really stressed out. If the guys weren't at practice, they were thinking about hockey, and the same went for Herb, Coach Patrick, and the rest of the staff.

That night, Bah planned on going out with Kristen. He hoped that being alone with her would take his mind off the Olympics a bit, because he needed a break from thinking about it. Unfortunately, it didn't work as well as he thought.

"Earth to Bah," Kristen said at dinner. He looked at Kristen, not realizing he hadn't been paying attention to a word she was saying.

"I'm sorry, Kristen," Bah said, taking her hand in his across the table. "I know I'm not being the best company right now."

"Want to talk about it?" she asked.

"You do realize I'm thinking about hockey, right?" Even though the hockey player's girlfriend never admitted it, he knew she hated talking hockey all of the time.

"I know. But if you want to talk and get something off your chest, talk away."

"I just can't stop thinking about the Olympics. The games are a week away, and everything we've done for the past seven months has been for this. We have a good team, but we've also lost games that mediocre teams should have won. What if we have a bad game? One bad game in the Olympics can cost us the gold and even a medal in general."

Kristen squeezed her boyfriend's hand. She knew there wasn't much she could say to comfort him, but she also knew just listening would help him. After letting Bah vent a few more minutes, he finished his meal.

"Thanks Kristen," Bah told her on their way out of the restaurant. "I know you must hate listening to me rambling at times."

"Bah, it's no problem. I don't mind. I wish I could say something to help," Kristen admitted.

Bah wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Honestly, just being here is helping," he told her with a smile. The rest of their walk to the dorms was pretty quiet, both Bah and Kristen lost in thought. Bah was thinking about the Olympics again, now keeping the thoughts to himself, while Kristen was thinking about the Olympics too, but for a different reason.

Kristen knew her relationship with Bah was stronger than ever. There was just something about him that made everything so easy. Bah was easy to talk to, he usually listened to her (unless he was stressed out about hockey), he was funny, incredibly kind, and definitely the sweetest and most thoughtful guy she had ever dated.

Kristen knew Bah was in the relationship for the long haul too. Just the other day he mentioned taking her to the family cottage over the summer. She even noticed the slip when he said the cottage would be theirs someday, but Bah quickly corrected himself and awkwardly said it would be his. Kristen knew what he had been thinking though.

It was nice that Bah spoke of a future together because Kristen really wanted a future together. It was sort of weird because Kristen was never the type of girl that thought about the future much – she always knew she wanted to get married and have kids someday, but she wasn't in a hurry and she didn't have her wedding planned and baby names picked since she graduated kindergarten like so many other girls did. Since Kristen began hanging out with Gayle though, her thoughts sort of changed. She witnessed how happy Gayle and Buzz were, and she wanted that more than anything.

"Uh, Kristen?" Bah said, pulling Kristen from her thoughts. "Now you're the one that seems a little lost in thought," Bah told his girlfriend.

"Sorry. I was just thinking," Kristen said, snapping back into the present time.

"I know," Bah said with a little laugh. "Are you thinking about what a hot boyfriend you have?"

"Kind of," Kristen said, flashing Bah a smile.

"And what kind of things are you thinking about this said boyfriend?" Bah didn't wait for a response but said, "The dirty things you're going to do to him later tonight to get his mind off hockey?"

"Sort of," Kristen said, though from her tone, Bah knew she was thinking more serious thoughts. Bah stopped walking and stood in front of her, placing both hands on her shoulders.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"I love you," Kristen blurted out, though not looking at Bah's face, but at the ground instead. Bah tilted her chin up so she was looking into his eyes.

"I love you too, babe," Bah said sincerely. Bah then noticed Kristen began tearing up. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want the Olympics to come."

"Why not?" Bah asked, half concerned because Kristen seemed upset, but half amused because the way she said it was so cute.

"Because I don't want anything to change," she carefully admitted, not wanting to sound like she was too serious and send Bah running for the hills.

"Nothing has to change," Bah said, pulling Kristen into a hug. "Nothing has to change," he repeated.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying," Kristen said, sniffling. She realized she probably looked crazy.

"It's okay. But seriously Kristen, nothing has to change. We'll work something out. Depending on where I go, we'll figure something out. I promise. You mean way too much to me to just let you go."

Kristen just looked at Bah, not knowing what to say. Even though it was clear he didn't have a real plan, Bah made her feel like everything was going to be okay.

* * *

The same night, Mark and Emma hung out in Emma's apartment. They ordered Chinese takeout and decided to watch something on TV. Mark requested they watch anything but hockey. Normally he would watch hockey over almost anything, but tonight he wanted to not think about hockey at all if possible.

Watching something unrelated to hockey wasn't a problem for Emma. She loved the sport but with Mark talking about the team nonstop, she needed a break. It wasn't even like she could take a break by hanging with Bah because Bah was just as bad as Mark. The night before Emma and Bah went to a movie and they almost had to leave because Bah wouldn't stop talking about the team.

As the couple was watching TV and eating their Chinese food, Mark told Emma some news he had received earlier that day.

"So I'm definitely playing for the Penguins when the Olympics are over," Mark told Emma. He wanted to gauge her reaction to him going to Pittsburgh and figured a casual mention was the best way.

"That's great!" Emma told him. "I bet they can use you. A superstar is always a good thing to have," Emma added with a wink.

Mark brushed off her compliment like it meant nothing. He hated people putting the spotlight on him. Emma picked up on this and led the topic in a different direction.

"Do you start right away?" she asked.

"Pretty much," Mark said. He didn't actually know many details yet. The Penguins coach contacted Herb's office the previous day and spoke to him about it. Herb and other USA Hockey staff were getting details together for all of the players so they wouldn't have to worry about things themselves. They really needed to be focused on the games and not on what was happening after.

Emma knew Mark was probably telling her this because he wanted to know how she felt about everything, but Emma didn't give him any idea of what she was feeling, because she didn't actually know.

She really, really liked Mark, but they had only been dating for a short time and it seemed way too soon to be thinking about moving to Pittsburgh for him. She kept telling herself to just live in the moment because it was a while away, but that wasn't so true anymore. The Olympics would be here and over before she knew it, and thinking about what was going to happen after they were over was inevitable.

* * *

When Riley arrived home that evening, she was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. She spent a longer day at the rink with Herb than usual and didn't get much sleep the night before, so Riley was really running on no energy.

"Hey Riley!" Mary greeted her daughter happily when she walked in. Her mom had way too much enthusiasm for the tired teen.

"Hi Mom," Riley replied, without nearly as much oomph.

"Do you want some dinner heated up?"

"No thanks," Riley replied. "I ate at the arena. I'm actually going to head upstairs. I have another early morning tomorrow and I'm already really tired."

"Not so fast," Mary said. "You got some mail today," she told her daughter, beaming with a proud smile as she handed Riley a large white envelope. Riley took one look at it and knew what it was.

"I didn't know you applied to any colleges," Mary told Riley as she opened the seal.

"It wasn't really that big a deal Mom," Riley explained. "Besides, this is probably just confirmation that they got all of my information. I just sent the application in a few weeks ago."

As Riley pulled the papers out of the envelope she became nervous. It wasn't that she needed this acceptance, but the more she thought about her future, the more she wanted it. Even a week before she applied, Riley never gave much thought to college. She used to love school, but after her dad died, she didn't care about anything including school.

Riley really tried getting on a better path the last month, and applying to a few colleges was another step on her way to becoming the person she knew she could be. Before taking a look at the letter, she took a deep breath, hoping there would be good news.

"I got in!" Riley said, with her excitement now overtaking her prior exhaustion.

"I'm so proud of you Riley!" her mother said, pulling her into a hug. "This is wonderful. We should celebrate. Let's go out for ice cream. You're not too tired for ice cream, are you?" Before Riley could even say that she wasn't too tired to celebrate, her mom said, "I'll get my purse, and you go upstairs and get Kyle and Erin. Tell them the good news!"

* * *

Exactly one week before the Olympics were to begin, Herb called a team meeting after a short practice. As usual, Jimmy was the first person showered and dressed, so he was hanging around in the meeting room when Riley walked in.

"Hey Jimmy."

"Hey Riley," Jimmy replied. "Any clue what the meeting is about?" he asked.

"Nope. My uncle was acting a little weird though. Normally he tells me these things, but when I asked, it was like he was being all secretive about it," she said with a shrug.

"Guess we'll find out soon enough." After a few minutes of comfortable silence in the room, Jimmy spoke up again. "So, how are you doing, Riley?" he asked, sounding concerned so Riley would know what he was referring to.

"It's getting better. Things are easier now."

"Yeah, it gets easier. It's always hard, but it gets easier," Jim told her.

"You seemed to handle it well all along though," Riley pointed out.

"Are you kidding? I was a mess. In some ways I still am. I just try to hide it," Jimmy admitted.

"You're good at it," Riley said. "I just took my anger out on everyone else, and mainly the rest of my family."

"My outlet was hockey," Jimmy said. "As hard as it was to keep playing, I knew I had to for her - to make her proud."

Riley nodded in understanding. When she really thought about everything that she had done in the months since her dad died, Riley knew her dad wouldn't be proud of her at all. Now it was time to change that and make him proud.

Within the next few minutes the rest of the team began filing in. Once everyone was seated, Herb walked in, ready to begin the meeting.

"As you all know, the opening ceremonies are one week from today. I'm pleased with your hard work so far, but the next three weeks will be _the most important of your lives_!" Herb said, putting a lot of emphasis on his point. "As you also know, our last scheduled exhibition game is tomorrow evening."

The room echoed with confirmation from the guys.

"But," Herb continued, "I have a little surprise for you."

The guys, including Riley now had very piqued interests. "What's goin' on?" a few of the guys were calling out.

"We have a game three days before Lake Placid," Herb stated. From the look on Herb's face though, everyone knew there was more to it than just any game. "Against the Soviets," he continued.

A pin drop could have been heard in the moment after Herb told them the news. They were all shocked and wondering how Herb managed that.

"So we get to beat those bastards twice?" Phil asked jokingly to break the silence of the room.

"Hell yeah," Mac shouted out.

Herb didn't answer his question directly, but said that playing them beforehand would be good practice. The guys would then see where they stood as far as measuring up to the opposition went.  
After Herb finished talking a few minutes later, there was a lot of chatter in the room about the impending match up. The guys were excited and energized to face them at this point; however they knew once it set in their minds who they were actually playing, there would be more nervous energy than anything else.

"Okay, okay," Herb said, getting the team refocused on him. "You have two hours before we leave. Get your things together and be back here by one pm on the dot." The team was leaving that afternoon for Warroad, Minnesota, a small town almost seven hours away. They were playing the Warroad Lakers the following evening, and since the drive was so long they were spending the night there.

* * *

Once the team arrived at the hotel it was already going on eight. They were given rooms keys but before going upstairs, they had a team dinner at the hotel.

"They better not serve us spaghetti and meatballs," Bah said, teasing Rizzo. "I can only handle so much of that."

"Yeah, and besides that, you'd rather have mine," Rizzo said, also joking.

"Awesome!" Buzz yelled once he saw what was being served. "They have steaks for us!"

"This is the best ever!" Phil agreed.

"Well, this town might be in the middle of frickin' nowhere," OC started, "but at least they serve good food."

"How did you guys live like this?" Silky wondered. "Looking out the window on the way here I thought we were going in circles. I saw the same things over and over and over and-"

"We get it Silk," Rammer cut in. "But not all of us grew up on farms or small towns like Warroad. Honestly, I've never even heard of this town before I saw it on the schedule. And when I saw it was in Minnesota I thought it was a misprint."

Mac laughed. "Me too. I never knew this town existed."

"I'm sure there are places like that in Massachusetts too," Rammer pointed out.

"I'm pretty sure there's not," OC laughed.

"Yeah, right," Mac began, jumping at the chance to argue with OC. "I know there must be a town you've never heard of. If I can get a map, I'll find one to prove my point."

"But even if we've never heard of it," OC said, speaking of himself and Silky, "I'm sure it doesn't look quite as deserted as this. I'm honestly surprised there's even running water here."

Silky picked up on OC's joke and added the crack, "Yeah, there's probably no hot water though."

Mac waved them off. "Fine, make fun. At least we have better college hockey teams than Boston," he said, trying to get back at OC and Silky for making fun of Minnesota. It worked, because both Bostonians instantly shut up.

After dinner, the guys were in the lobby of the hotel, trying to decide what to do with their evening. They had an eleven o'clock curfew because of the next day's game, but that wasn't stopping them from having some fun.

"The girl at the desk said there's a bar down the street," Rizzo said, walking over to report to the group.

"How far down the street?" Silky asked. "It's pretty damn cold out. I don't really feel like walking in this ghost town three miles just to find a half empty bar."

"She said it's a five minute walk," Rizzo said.

"Yeah, and it's still at the opposite end of town," Bah said, now also joking about how small the town was.

"There's also a movie theater next door," Buzz began, "but they only have one movie playing and it started ten minutes ago."

"We could stay here and go in the pool," Rammer suggested.

"Boorr-ring," OC said. "Why don't we just play a game of Texas Hold 'em?"

"How about strip poker?" Phil suggested. OC hit him upside the head.

"Are you stupid? We don't have any girls to play with, and I am not playing strip poker with a bunch of guys. I know I've seen it all in the locker room, but come on…"

"Riley could play," Phil said without even thinking.

A chorus of 'Ewwwes' rang out. "Philly, you're disgusting," Rizzo said.

"Well, most of us have seen that already," he pointed out.

OC just shook his head like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You need to stop talking."

"Well, we all know you would probably like it," Phil said.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" OC asked in an angry tone.

"You like her. It's so obvious."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"No," OC said, louder now.

"Uh, guys," Bah began, "You do realize you're standing in the middle of the lobby arguing about something you probably shouldn't be?"

"Well, I don't," OC said, attempting to make his point and finish the argument.

"Whatever, man," Phil said.

"Why does everyone think I like Riley?"

"Ewwwe," a voice said from behind the group. It was Riley. "OC doesn't like me. We're barely friends."

"Yeah, we still hate each other," OC said. It was their inside joke. "Right, Ri?"

"Definitely," she said with a big smile. "So what are you all up to tonight?"

"Phil wants to know if you'll play strip poker with him," Mac joked.

Riley played along. "Yeah sure. As long as you let me borrow that trick deck, Mac."

"What trick deck?" he asked, sounding confused.

Riley hit him in the arm. "You're supposed to play along."

* * *

A while later, the some of the guys and Riley were playing poker in Bah and Buzz's room. The remaining guys not playing were watching TV in the adjoining hotel room.

"Who has more change?" Silky asked. "I'm out." Normally the guys only played with change because no one had that much money to spare and using bills usually got out of hand. Recently, sometimes they even used chips alone with no money attached because they mainly played for the fun and bragging rights of winning anyway.

"Looks like you're gonna have to start using singles," Bah commented.

"And the rate he's going, he'll be breaking into the twenties in another fifteen minutes," Pav joked.

"No way," Silky said.

"Silk hates using anything worth more than dimes," Rizzo teased.

Silky ignored Rizzo's comment and got up to see if anyone in the other room had change he could use.

"Could I borrow some change?"

"Borrow?" Jimmy asked. "Don't you mean have? From what I've heard you're not having much luck tonight."

"Whatever. I just need something to play with."

"Silky come back in here," Mac called him. "Phil has something you can use."

Silky went to see what his teammate had as a bargaining chip. He was surprised to be handed wrapped condoms.

"What the hell?" Silk asked, giving Phil a questioning look.

"It's a perfectly good idea to put those in the pot," Phil said in justification.

"I meant 'what the hell' as in why did you bring condoms with you?"

"I'm always prepared, Silky." Phil told him with a smirk.

"Rammer you better watch out" Silky called loudly so Rammer would hear him from the next room, "your roommate is always prepared," Silky cracked, making the whole room roar in laughter.

"Can you losers shut the hell up?" Buzz asked loudly from the TV room. "The volume is maxed out and we still can't hear the TV."

"Maybe you losers shouldn't be watching CNN specials then," Silky shot back. "I know this town is dull, but seriously?" he joked.

* * *

An hour later, everyone had about enough poker. They decided to play one more hand, winner takes all. By this time there were three dollars and forty-five cents in change in the pot, along with three individually wrapped condoms, a half eaten pack of gum, hockey tape, a roll that had been snuck from dinner, and a bottle of water.

Riley, OC, Pav, and Rizzo were the only four that hadn't folded off the deal for that round.

Riley went first and said, "I'll raise you… three bobby pins," she finished, pulling the clips out of her hair.

"That shouldn't be allowed!" Phil said. "We can't use bobby pins."

"I can't use those condoms," Riley shot back with a laugh.

"You can let the lucky guy use them," Silky said, speaking of a hypothetical guy that would be in store for some action.

"Let her raise us bobby pins," Pav said, shrugging. "You guys aren't in the game anyway so you don't get a say."

"Something you're not telling us Pav?" Silky joked.

"Yeah, in my spare time I like to make my hair look pretty," he said joking right back.

"Okay, okay," OC said as everyone was laughing at Pav's comment. "I'll match Riley, but with this," he said, throwing a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket on the table.

Rizzo picked it up to see what it was. "Is this a girl's phone number?"

"Yep," OC said with a big grin.

Pav rolled his eyes and said, "Now this is getting out of hand. Why we anyone want that?"

"Speak for yourself," Phil said.

"Do you like being sloppy seconds that much, Philly?"

"You're really funny, Pav."

"I fold," Pav then said, throwing his cards on the table. "I don't want any of that crap."

Rizzo followed and said, "My cards sucked anyway."

"Well, it looks like it's a win-win as far as the condoms go," Silky said, cracking once again, another joke about Riley and OC. He said it so only Phil could hear him though.

"How about it, Riley? Got anything else to raise?"

"A hair band," Riley said, pulling it off her wrist.

"Do you even have good cards?" OC wondered out loud.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Riley said smugly.

"I fold," OC said easily and threw his cards down.

"That quick?" Riley asked.

"You have good cards."

"And you just believe me like that?" Riley wondered.

"Yeah, because when you have bad or mediocre cards you just sit quietly and don't say much at all. Your poker face is almost as bad as Rizzo's."

"It's worse than Rizzo's," Silky said.

"Take you three forty-five and get outta here," OC said. Riley pulled the pot of random items toward her. Then she threw the condoms back.

"I can't take those. Herb will wonder what the hell I have them for. I don't want to have to explain how all of you corrupted me," Riley joked.

"Let OC hold onto 'em," Phil cracked. Silky laughed at the semi-inside joke. No one else realized that Phil singled OC out because they were Riley's and not for any other reason.

* * *

After that they guys all went back to their respective rooms so they could get some sleep before their game the next evening. They ended up playing well and had one of their best games of the season. They shut out the Lakers and put on an offensive show scoring ten goals, with each goal being scored by a different player, at least one goal from each offensive line, and all three defensive pairings adding at least one goal. They only had one game that had been better in terms of goals, a fifteen-zero shutout, but Mark and Mac got hat tricks and the rest of the goals weren't as spread out among the team.

Everyone was happy to come away with a big win that night because they knew the momentum and enthusiasm would help for their impending match-up with the Soviet team. In a few days it would be onto Madison Square Garden.


	33. Chapter 32: I Gotta Feeling

LTJM: Thanks for the review. Glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoy this chapter too.

penelopeparish: Thanks for the review! I'm so glad you liked it and the poker scene. I love writing the funny guy bonding stuff. And you'll see how things will work out for Kristen and Bah soon (next chapter).

NellieBly413672: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked how I did the contrast between things with the two couples. You'll see a bit more of that in this chapter. And I'm glad you thought the poker part was funny. I love writing the funny scenes!

A/N: I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to get out. The last couple weeks at school were awful! (I'm sure some of you know the feeling.) Anyway, this one's a little extra long, because I feel so bad about not updating for a while. Please read and review! I'm going to try to post again in a timely fashion. :)

**Chapter 32: I Gotta Feeling**

Two days before the MSG game, the team was packing up and getting ready to leave. Not only were they packing up for New York and Lake Placid, but they were packing up to move out of the dorms as well. Most of the team wasn't actually moving out until after the Olympics, but they were getting their things together now.

"This is actually sort of sad," Phil commented. "It's like move out day at the end of each year of college, but this is the last dorm move out I'll ever be doing."

"Yeah," Bah agreed. "I can't believe this is almost over. I never thought I'd say this, but I might miss coming to practice every day."

"I won't," Pav said, walking into the room with an empty box. "Here ya go, Bah," he said, dropping the box on the ground. Bah needed more boxes to pack all his stuff up. He didn't remember unpacking that many boxes when he moved in, but somehow he needed more boxes.

"You won't miss all of us, Pav?"

"I'll miss you. I won't miss practice though."

"Who would?" OC rhetorically wondered as he walked in the room. "Can I have that box?" he asked, pointing to the box Pav just dropped down. Before anyone answered, OC reached to pick it up.

"Hey!" Bah said, stopping him. "I need that."

"You have three already."

"Yeah, and I'm not done," Bah said.

"Fine man, I'll go bother Mac. I think he had extra."

"So Bah, what's gonna happen with you and Kristen?" Phil asked. "You guys seem really great together…."

"I don't know. I love her and I know she loves me… we haven't really talked about it yet though," Bah said. He explained how they sort of talked a little the other night, but the couple never got into specifics. Bah didn't think it was fair to ask Kristen to uproot her whole life and move, especially because Bah wasn't even entirely sure what would happen. His tryout in Buffalo might not even amount to anything. The only thing he was sure about was that he wanted to be with Kristen.

"Have you told Kristen about Buffalo yet?" Phil then asked, as if he could read Bah's thoughts.

"No," Bah said, sounding guilty. "I don't even know if I'll make the team. I'll tell her eventually – I just don't see what the rush is. Have you figured out what you're doing?" Bah then asked, eager to get off the topic of his girlfriend.

"I don't know. The North Stars want me to sign a contract, but I don't know if I want to. I've been thinking about going overseas," Phil said, talking about playing in the European Hockey League. "Buzz was talking to me about it, and it seems like a pretty good idea. I'll have a little time to think about it though, because even if I signed with Minnesota, it wouldn't be until after the NHL season ends."

For about half of the guys going on to play in the NHL or elsewhere, they weren't actually starting until the following season. The other half of the team was beginning with their new team right after the Olympics ended. Some of the guys were opting to play in Europe as opposed to staying in North America because their chances of being on a pro team were greater. Phil was one that was considering Europe because he knew if he remained in the US he would most likely be playing in the AHL and not the NHL. At least he had a little time to decide; right now, focusing on the Olympics was much more important.

* * *

Later that evening, Riley headed to the dorms to hang out with some of the guys and to also drop off some empty boxes she had left from when her family moved. She happened to go to OC and Rizzo's room first, but only OC was there.

"Hey Ri," OC said as he saw the red head in the open doorway. "Come on in – you can help me pack."

"I don't think so, Jack. I will let you use whatever boxes you want though," Riley said as she dumped three empty boxes on the floor.

"Thanks, I can actually use them. No one else had any extras." Riley stood in OC's room for a minute, watching as he packed up some of his stuff.

"Have time for a break?" Riley asked.

"Why, what's going on?"

"Well, I'm gonna go watch the game with some of the other guys. Mac, Bah, and Phil are down the hall already. If you want a seat, I suggest you head down soon. Word through the grapevine is that the guys that went to dinner are all heading back in the next few minutes."

"Okay, give me two minutes and I'll head down with you. I just want to hide these boxes so Rizzo can't steal them or worse yet, give them away," OC said with a smile.

"So… I heard you're definitely going to Chicago after the games?" Riley said, with enough inclination to get affirmation from OC.

"Yep. I'm gonna be a Blackhawk. Bet that makes you pretty happy, right?" OC asked with a wink.

"Tremendously," Riley said in an exaggerating tone, though with a smile on her face so OC would know she was half kidding.

"I'll be your new favorite," OC said with a big grin and poked Riley in the side.

"You wish," Riley said. "But you're not going to take the place of Mikita that easily."

"I still don't understand why you like Mikita that much," OC said. Riley told him that Stan Mikita, a long-time center for the Blackhawks, was her favorite player, and he always liked teasing her about it. "He's so old, he could be your grandpa!"

"OC, he's not that old. He's only about forty."

"What – do you have the hots for him or something?" OC asked, now just trying to be an ass and not serious at all.

"Yeah, Stan Mikita is the love of my life," Riley said sarcastically. "Riley Mikita… how's it sound?" she joked.

"Terrible," OC said, both of them laughing at the same time.

Then Riley seriously added, "Maybe you can introduce when you play together."

"If he doesn't retire," OC began. "I heard he's pretty close to retirement."

"He won't retire, "Riley said, matter-of-factly.

"Why? You're not gonna let him or something?"

"Yeah, he's not retiring if I have anything to say about it," Riley said with a laugh.

"Okay, I'm all set. Want to head over to watch the game?"

"Yeah, let's go," Riley said. "Wait!" she then said, just before exiting the room. "I forgot to tell you what I wanted to before… guess who's going to be partying it up in the windy city with you?"

"Stan Mikita?" OC asked, being smart.

"Besides him, Jack. I'll give you a hint – it's way better than him."

"I don't know, who?" OC asked, looking amused.

"Me."

"You?" OC asked, looking sort of surprised. Riley nodded. "Is your family moving back to Chicago?"

"No, I'm going to Northwestern U in the fall."

"Riley, that's great," OC said, looking excited for the teen. "What are you going for?" he then asked. OC was somewhat surprised the teen who was, just a month ago, so unsure and uncaring of her future wanted to go to college. _What a turn around,_ OC thought, happy for her.

"I'm majoring in human development and psychological services. I'm hoping to either be a counselor or psychologist someday… you know, that way I can help kids like me," Riley added, her voice taking on an almost sad tone.

"I'm really happy for you Ri," OC then said, and gave Riley a big hug with the hope of keeping her happy and getting her mind off her dad. OC knew that by making anymore comments about her plan, he ran the risk of her getting emotional. It was completely reasonable that she would, but OC liked to avoid that at all costs.

The two pulled out of the hug that lasted a couple seconds too long, making the atmosphere a little awkward.

"Well, at least I'll know someone in Chicago now," OC said, trying to start up a conversation so as to get over the awkwardness.

"Yeah, I'll have to show you around," Riley said. She figured OC only made the comment to be nice, because as soon as he met his teammates, he'd have lots of friends in the city. "But I think you'll probably already know your way around by the time I make it there. School doesn't start until August, so I'll be in Minnesota until then."

The two continued talking about Chicago and college life as they headed out of OC's room and walked down the hall to the common room for the hockey game.

* * *

The following night, which happened to be the night before the team was leaving for New York, the guys decided to go out and celebrate their last night in Minnesota. Some of them, namely Silky and OC, were happier than others to be celebrating this. They were all going to a bar first, with no specific plans for after, but to switch it up it was a different bar from their usual hangout spot.

"Why haven't we come here before?" Verchota asked, looking around the crowded bar at the many girls standing around.

"Maybe because you Minnesotans have been holding out on us," OC replied.

"This is like, a sorority party on LSD or something," Silky said. A few of the guys that heard the comment gave Silky a funny look.

"Dude," Mac began, "that doesn't even make sense."

"Whatever," Silky responded. "I just meant tonight's gonna be a good night," he added in a sing song voice.

"You can say that again," Rammer said, eyeing up a girl standing at the far side of the bar.

"I meant for the gifted guys among us," Silky added. "Not you."

"Ouch," Bah laughed. With that, he tightened his grip around his girlfriend's waist. "Want a drink, Kristen?"

"Sure, she said, pulling Bah toward the bar."

"Who wants to play darts?" OC asked.

"I'll play," Rizzo said.

"Me too," Mac said. "I saw a dart board open over there," he said, pointing to the front corner of the bar.

"Need one more?" Silky asked, not because he was offering to play, but because he figured OC didn't realize they only had three players. Usually the guys played games of cricket with two or three pairs of people.

"No, Riley's around here somewhere," OC responded. "I already promised to play a game with her."

"Of course you did," Silky said, then turning and rolling his eyes at Rammer, who just chuckled quietly as an unsuspecting OC walked away.

"Well," Silky began, "if you boys will excuse me, I'm going to talk to those pretty ladies over there." With that, Silky left the diminishing group to head to the girls that caught his eye.

"Anyone think it's totally wrong for Silky to be alone over there with six beautiful women?" Phil said, shaking his head.

"I give him a lot of credit," Baker said. "Even if I was single, a group of six girls is sort of intimidating."

"Six hot girls," Phil corrected him.

"Personally, I think one girl by herself is intimidating," Rammer said, sounding almost defeated.

"You would," Pav jumped in. "You're so shy, it's almost cute in a way."

"Shut up," Rammer said, shoving him.

"Well, you are" Baker said, agreeing with Pav. Then he laughed and said, "You were probably one of those little boys that pulled a girl's hair on the playground and then ran away."

"I did that too, but look at how I turned out," Phil said, with a big grin. He was still looking around the bar, picking his prey, so to speak.

"Some people think shy guys are sexy," Emma said, who had just walked up to the group with Mark.

"Why don't we both go over with Silky?" Pav suggested to Rammer. "Those girls are hot and besides, Silky can't possibly want all six of them. I mean, two at the most for a threesome, right?" Pav said, laughing.

"I don't know," Rammer said, hesitant.

"Come on," Pav said. "You're a good looking guy. Don't be intimidated. I'm sure any of those girls would love to have you talking to them. They'd think they were really lucky to have a hot man like yourself, chatting them up."

"Pav, stop talking," Phil said, shaking his head. "You're starting to sound like a fag."

"Shut up Verchota. I'm only trying to help boost Rammer's confidence a little."

"I don't need a confidence boost," Rammer said. "I need someone more in my league."

"How come you never think any of the hot girls are in your league?" Verchota wondered.

"Because they're not."

"You're selling yourself short."

"No, I'm being realistic."

"No," Phil argued. "Being realistic would be the thought process, 'I'm a hockey player, and I can get any girl I want, anytime I want.' No one can stop us, man," he told Rammer in finishing.

"That's your thought process, man. And if I wanted_ any_ girl, I'm sure it would work. I don't want some meaningless one nighter though. And I don't want someone to be with me just because I play hockey."

"What's wrong with that?" Phil asked, shrugging as if he didn't have a clue.

Rammer exchanged a look with Mark who just laughed to himself. Emma backed Rammer up by saying, "Nothing's wrong with it, Verchota. At least nothing's wrong with it for you... to each their own," she said.

As Baker went to greet his girlfriend who just walked in, Pav and Phil left the group to join Silky and the six girls. The girls were now all laughing, most likely at some lame attempt Silky made at flirting.

"I'm gonna get a drink," Rammer said, leaving Mark and Emma to head to the bar.

"Well, we could go play darts with the guys over there," Mark suggested.

"And play with Riley?" Emma scoffed. "I think I'll pass."

"Em-ma, come on. Just ignore her," Mark pleaded. "She's really not that bad."

"Mark, I'm sick of arguing over her," Emma snapped. "I don't like her, bottom line. Just because you're Mr. Nice Guy, and you like everyone, that doesn't mean I have to be all nice and shit."

"Jeez, Emma, you don't need to get upset. It was just a suggestion."

"Let' get a drink," Emma said, sounding almost impatient. Mark followed her to the bar, wondering why she was so moody. He remembered Bah warning him that Emma had a temper, but she was usually so nice around Mark, he was sort of taken aback.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rammer was at the bar and happened to be waiting for the bartender just next to the girl he had spotted before. It wasn't at all a coincidence though, because Rammer had purposely picked the spot next to her. She was a cute, petite girl with light brown hair cut just above her shoulders. Even from afar, Rammer could just tell she seemed friendly and outgoing. When he first saw her, she was smiling and talking to her friends, having a good time without drawing attention to herself like some of the other girls in the bar that night.

Now Rammer could tell she was waiting to get a drink, and although she had been waiting a few minutes, she still looked pretty patient, like she had all the time in the world. The bartender finally came over and looked at Rammer first, ready to get him a drink.

"Uh, I'll have whatever you got on tap. And whatever she wants too," Rammer added, thumbing to the girl next to him.

"Oh, uh, thanks," the girl said, giving Rammer a shy smile. "I'll take the same." After the bartender went to fill their drinks, the girl told Rammer, "You didn't have to do that."

"Eh, it's nothing. I know you were waiting, so I figured I'd speed up the process."

"Well, thanks again," she said. Once the bartender gave the two their drinks, the girl tipped her glass towards Rammer and said "Cheers."

Rammer clanked his glass with hers and smiled before they both took a drink.

"You're not mixing drinks are you?" Rammer asked, trying to keep a conversation going, though not knowing what else to say. It was the first thing that came to his mind.

"Excuse me?" she asked, unsure whether she heard Rammer right. She thought it was an odd conversation starter.

"Well, you know what they say about mixing drinks, right?" Rammer asked.

"Well, I'm having beer after liquor, so I'm in the clear," the girl answered, flashing Rammer another smile.

"That's good. I wouldn't want you getting sick or anything," Rammer responded and smiled, happy to be having a conversation with this girl. The girl thought he was smiling for another reason and she blushed. _Crap,_ Rammer thought. _I think that may have just come across as a really lame pick up line._ "I didn't mean it like that," he clarified, and then blushed himself. _She must think I'm totally lame. Either that or some psycho creep._

"I'm Sara, by the way."

"Mike," the hockey player replied, switching the beer to his other hand so he could shake Sara's outstretched hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mike," Sara said, and continued a casual conversation with Mike as they sipped their beers.

* * *

In the mean time, Riley, OC, Mac and Rizzo were playing their game of darts with Rizzo and Mac winning but only by 45 points.

"Riley, hit the fifteen," OC told her. "If you get three, we'll tie it up."

"Thanks Mr. Math Whiz. But I know how to play darts, and I know how to add," Riley responded. Riley made her attempt but didn't hit any fifteens. Instead she hit two twos and a seventeen.

"Ugh. Not what we needed, Ri."

"Thanks for the support, Jack," Riley said and rolled her eyes.

"At least she closed out seventeens," Mac said in Riley's defense.

"Yeah, but we need points," OC half whined.

"Cry about it, OC," Rizzo joked. Rizzo took his turn and didn't add any points to his team's score. Then OC took his turn and got two fifteens and a bull's eye to bring the score closer.

"Hey, I think-"

"The answer is no, OC," Mac said, before OC could even finish his statement.

OC smiled and said, "You didn't even know what I was going to say."

"Yes I do," Mac said. "You want to take Riley's turn next time – and the answer is no."

OC chuckled. "How do you know me so well?"

"We've been friends for seven months or so."

"No, you've been teammates for seven months," Rizzo said. "You've only been friends for about half of that time."

"Oh, trust me, Rizzo," OC said. "We're still not friends."

"At least you two are past the hate stage," Riley said. Then she smiled and said, "We still hate each other."

"We know," Rizzo said, giving Mac a look as if to say that they both knew just how much OC and Riley _"hated" _each other.

* * *

Emma and Mark were just talking and having a drink when Emma saw Mark looking around the bar.

"Is there something else you'd rather be doing?" Emma asked pointedly.

"Uh, no. I was just seeing where the other guys were," Mark answered.

"Look, if you really want to play darts we will," Emma said with a sigh that made it seem like Emma would be making a big concession by playing darts.

"Why don't we play pool?" Mark suggested. He didn't care if they played darts or not, but he just wanted to do something. He could sit and talk to Emma later on. The reason he was at the bar was to hang out with some of his friends. "Buzz and Gayle might want to play with us."

"Okay, but only if you promise we'll play girls versus guys after the practice game," Emma said with a big smile.

Mark was going to ask what she meant by 'practice game,' but he was too confused to question it. A minute ago Emma was pissed off, and now she was acting as if she wasn't upset at all. _Maybe she's like, having that PMS thing girls always talk about,_ Mark thought to himself, then shuddered. _Ugh, I don't want to think about that._

* * *

"Ha, we're one shot away from winning!" Riley told Mac.

"Shut up. You're not gonna make this shot."

"Mac, she has three chances," OC pointed out.

"You shut up too," Mac said. "Five minutes ago you were whining because Riley sucks."

"I do not!" Riley said, stopping just before she was ready to shoot.

"Ugh, just take your turn," Rizzo told the red head.

"He broke my concentration," Riley said, pointing at Mac.

"Whatever," Rizzo said. Riley ended up missing the shot anyway, and Mac and Rizzo went on to win the game. They decided to play another game, and after OC and Riley won that game, they had to make it best of three to determine the ultimate champs.

"Before we start, I need a refill," Mac said. "Anyone want anything?"

"Can you get me a coke or something?" Riley asked, and handed Mac a couple dollars. OC and Rizzo also told Mac what they wanted. A minute later Mac was back with a pitcher of beer and a drink for Riley.

"Was there something wrong with the coke?" Riley asked as she took the glass from Mac.

"No, why?"

"It's yellowish-orange."

"That does look pretty bad," OC commented.

"It'll taste fine," Mac assured the teen. Riley hesitantly took a sip, and then made a face.

"Mac, are you trying to get me drunk or something? This is not coke."

"Yeah it is," Mac said with a failed attempt at keeping a straight face.

"You're lying. The huge smile on your face is giving it away," Riley said. "This is a long island iced tea."

"Okay, fine. I didn't get you coke. I just wanted you to enjoy yourself."

"I can enjoy myself without drinking, Mac," Riley told him. She knew what happened when she started drinking, and it was never pretty. "Besides, we've been there already… do you really want a repeat of that?" Riley asked, jokingly referring to what happened between them.

Mac blushed, embarrassed because that wasn't his reason for getting her the drink at all. "Want me to give it to someone else?" he asked seriously.

"No. I'll drink it," Riley said. "It does taste good." OC then took the drink from Riley's hand.

"I know what you're trying to do, Mac. And it's not gonna work."

Riley looked confused at OC's statement, while Mac looked amused.

"And what's that?" Mac asked.

"You're trying to mess up her ability to throw darts." Then OC turned to Riley and said, "You can drink this after the game." Mac just laughed. OC had him right on.

After OC and Riley won the game of darts, and after Mac and Rizzo finished complaining, OC handed Riley her drink. "Nice game, partner."

"You too," Riley replied. She took a sip of the drink and then looked at OC. "Hey Jack?"

"Yeah."

"I'm cut off after this one, okay." Riley didn't think one drink would impair her enough to make her keep drinking, but she didn't really know and she didn't want to take any chances. Since he hadn't had a drink in a while, she knew her tolerance probably decreased a little.

"Okay," OC said. "But Riley, if you want to have a couple drinks, I'll keep an eye on you and make sure nothing happens," OC promised. Riley nodded, knowing she could trust OC.

* * *

After chatting for a while, Rammer decided to ask Sara if she wanted to leave the bar. He wasn't looking for a one night stand, Rammer just wanted to get something to eat and figured he could talk to Sara a little more if she wanted to join him. Luckily for Rammer, Sara agreed and they walked across the street to a burger place.

"Want to split an order of fries?" Rammer asked. "This place has amazing curly fries."

"Sure, but it'll be my treat."

"Are you kidding? I asked you. It's my treat," Rammer told her. After enjoying some more conversation and their fries they decided to take a walk. Neither wanted to be at the bar anymore, but their rides weren't ready to leave.

In the middle of their walk, the couple stopped for a minute, and before Rammer knew it, they were kissing. When they finally pulled apart, both were breathless.

"Wow," Rammer managed to let out. From his standpoint, that was the best kiss he'd ever had, and from the look on Sara's face, she felt the same.

"Yeah, wow," Sara agreed. Then she looked down, trying to hide a look of disappointment on her face. "I need to be honest with you about something."

"What's that?" Rammer asked, concerned. After a few seconds he said, "You're not married, are you?" He didn't think Sara seemed like that type of girl, but with the stories he'd heard from Silky, he could never be too sure.

"Oh, no. Definitely not," Sara replied. "It's just that… I'm not from around here. I'm just visiting my friend for the week. I leave to go home in two days."

Rammer breathed an audible sigh of relief. Then, he laughed. "I guess I should be honest about something too… I'm leaving Minnesota tomorrow and probably won't be back here for… well, a while," Rammer finished, really having no idea when he'd be back.

"The Olympics, right?" Sara asked.

"Yeah, but after that I'm starting with my NHL team, so I won't be back in Minnesota either."

Sara tried to force a smile and said, "It's just my luck that I would meet a nice guy one of the few days I'm in Minnesota, but after years in Buffalo I haven't found anyone all that great."

When Sara said Buffalo, Rammer's expression turned to shock. He couldn't have possibly heard her right.

"You're from Buffalo?" Rammer asked, the shock still evident in his voice.

"Well, I'm actually from Pembroke, but no one knows where that is." Rammer was still too shocked to speak, so Sara answer the question she thought was coming. She didn't realize how surprised Rammer was. "It's a farm town basically between Buffalo and Rochester. I say I'm from Buffalo because then people know where I'm talking about, and I it's always Buffalo over Rochester because I like Buffalo better.

"I don't believe it!" Rammer said. "The Sabres are my team!"

"Yeah, I've always been a Sabres fan," Sara said. "It's cool that you are too even though you're from Minnesota."

"No, no, no," Rammer said, realizing he wasn't that clear in what he meant. "I mean, the Buffalo Sabres are my NHL team." Still realizing that wasn't very clear he added, "I'm moving to Buffalo after the Olympics."

"That's an awful joke, Mike," Sara said.

"I'm serious," Rammer said. He was still surprised at the coincidence. "I really am going to be playing with the Sabres."

"Oh my God, you are serious, aren't you?" Sara asked, seeing the look of seriousness on Rammer's face.

"Wow," Rammer said.

"I don't believe it!" Sara said, now sounding excited. "What a coincidence."

"Yeah, really."

After talking about their purely coincidental meeting a few more minutes while waiting for their rides to leave the bar, Rammer and Sara decided to exchange numbers. It was actually Sara giving Rammer her number because Rammer wasn't sure where he'd be living yet once he got to Buffalo.

* * *

After Emma and Mark finished a couple games of pool, they went over to join some of the other guys in conversation. After a few minutes, Mark left the group to talk to Bah, who was standing nearby.

"What's with Emma being all… bipolar, today?" Mark asked Bah, thinking he would know best because they were best friends.

"Looks like you're starting to see more and more of the real her," Bah said. Mark gave him a confused look because Emma wasn't usually so moody. He didn't know the real Emma was any different from the one he'd been seeing all along. Bah went on to explain further. "She gets this way sometimes," Bah said, knowing exactly what Mark's comment of 'bipolar' meant.

Bah went on to tell Mark that whenever Emma got mad, she would be really nice to other people but act distant and short tempered with whoever she was mad at. "So is she mad at you?" Bah asked.

"I don't know," Mark said, shrugging. He looked over at Emma who was talking to Christoff, Morrow, and Morrow's wife. She looked happy right now. Ever since they arrived at the bar though, Emma was basically doing exactly what Bah described.

"Hey, buddy," Bah said, "just make a note to yourself not to ask Emma what's wrong unless you want an earful. If you don't know what you did to make her upset, chances are it's nothing big enough to make her mad for more than a couple hours."

"Yeah," Kristen interjected. "Bah's right. If you ask Emma what's wrong she'll tell you exactly what's on her mind, and it'll probably be more than you want to know," Kristen finished, knowing Emma almost as well as Bah.

Mark sighed. "Okay, thanks." Mark thought back to their entire evening together and couldn't come up with anything that might have made Emma upset. The only thing they talked about in the car were the impending Olympic games. Surely that wouldn't have made her mad. _It wasn't like I mentioned what was happening after the Olympics with us_, Mark thought, being completely oblivious to the fact that not talking about their future, or lack thereof, was the thing that made Emma upset.

* * *

At this point, Emma stole a glance across the bar at Mark, who was standing with her best friend, and felt a twinge of guilt. She knew she was being a little hard on Mark tonight, but she couldn't believe he didn't pick up on why she was angry either. _Wasn't it obvious?_ she thought.

Emma was getting upset because she didn't know what was going on with herself and her boyfriend. Not only was Mark avoiding the subject of a future together, but even if he brought it up, Emma wasn't sure how she would respond because she was confused herself. Emma didn't know if she wanted to pick up her life and move to Pittsburgh. She knew she wouldn't do it if she had any doubts that things were going somewhere serious with Mark, and right now she just didn't know. It wasn't that Mark didn't seem serious enough, because he did, but Emma just didn't know if she was serious enough. Sure Mark was a really wonderful guy, but sometimes Emma wondered if there was enough chemistry.

She stole another glance to the same area, but looked at Bah and Kristen this time. From the second she saw Kristen and Bah, she could tell there was chemistry between them, and that was before either one of them knew they had feelings for each other. Emma always hoped for that spark herself, but she didn't think it was there with Mark. No matter how great a guy Mark was, she didn't want to settle and be unhappy. As they became more and more comfortable in their relationship, and as they continued to do so, Emma thought that what they had would die out, because there was no initial spark to begin with. She was just so confused about everything.

* * *

On the way back to the dorms, Silky and Phil, two of the four guys Rammer happened to be riding with, were giving him a hard time about not hooking up with Sara.

"I've told you time and time again that I didn't want that," Rammer reminded them. "But guess what?" Rammer didn't wait for a response. "She's from Buffalo!"

"Are you kidding?" Silky asked. When he realized Rammer was serious, Silky slapped him on the back. "Good for you… you'll already have one groupie in Buffalo before you even start playing."

Rammer gave Silky a dirty look, then went onto tell Rizzo, who was also in the car, about Sara. Rizzo put the same value in women as Rammer and seemed really interested in Rammer's story.

"That's really great, man," Rizzo said. "You know, I knew there was something special about Pam the first time I met her too," Rizzo said, talking about his girlfriend.

"Oh my God, can you pull over?" Silky yelled. "I think I'm gonna puke!"

"I told you not to get in the car if you were too drunk Silk," Rizzo told him in a mothering tone.

"I'm not too drunk. I can't stand hearing all this sappy crap! You meet a girl, fuck her, and then start a relationship if she's any good!"

Now Pav piped up. "No wonder you're always single, Silky. Your view on women is absolutely terrible, not to mention disgusting."

"Oh, trust me, Pav," Rizzo began. "Our little Silky just hadn't found the right girl yet. When he does he'll eat his words." Rizzo smiled in the rearview back at Silky, who took the opportunity, since they were at a red light, to hit him.

"If you EVER, and I mean EVER – call me 'little Silky' again, I will beat the living shit out of you." Rizzo just laughed to which Silky replied, "You will not be laughing if you don't take me seriously, Rizzo."

"Okay, fine. But I promise you that someday, you'll meet that one girl, totally out of the blue, that's so special you would ever consider," Rizzo made a slight pause for effect, "waiting for marriage to sleep with."

Everyone in the car laughed. "Silky? Yeah right," Phil said. "That's like saying the Pope will convert to Judaism." More laughter filled the car.

"I'm not you, Rizzo," Silky then joked.

"Haha, very funny," Rizzo replied, knowing that the guys always teased him because it took him and Pam so long to have sex.

"I can actually totally see that happening, Rizzo," Pav said in agreement, knowing that sometimes the one thing someone was the most vehemently against was the one thing they'd end up doing.

"Well, what happened with those girls you were all talking to before?" Rammer asked Silky, Pav, and Phil. He asked in a mocking tone because clearly they were headed back to the dorms without any girls.

"It just so happens that a few of them are meeting us on campus," Silky replied. "We're continuing our little party even after last call," he added, referring to the fact that everyone had stayed at the bar until last call.

"Make sure you make it on time for the bus to the airport tomorrow," Rizzo said, again in a mothering tone as he pulled the car into a parking spot.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Phil said. "We will."

"Unbelievable," Rammer said as the three guys walked away.

He didn't think they heard him, but Silky shouted back, "Told you tonight was gonna be a good night."

Rizzo turned to Rammer and hit him on the back before saying, "You know what? I've got a feeling it was a pretty good night all around."

"That it was," Rammer said, speaking for himself. It was definitely a good last night in Minnesota.


	34. Chapter 33: Smoke on the Water

NellieBly413672: Thanks so much for your review! I'm glad you liked the chapter. You'll get answers to all of your questions soon enough!

A/N: Sorry this was sort of delayed… enjoy and pretty please review when you're done! Oh yeah, I couldn't find much information on OC's injury (like what period it happened and who actually injured him), so if you know the accurate information and I got it wrong, sorry.

**Chapter 33: Smoke on the Water**

When the guys arrived in New York it was mid afternoon but looked like nighttime. It was a really gloomy day with dark, dense clouds filling the sky and a cold chill in the air with a biting wind.

"The sky is crazy looking. It's so ominous – I just hope it isn't a bad premonition," OC said as the team took a bus to their hotel.

"I still can't believe we're playing the Soviets tomorrow," Phil said. "What was Herb thinking?" he wondered aloud.

"Probably that it'll be good practice," Mark offered.

"Or to scare the shit out of us," Bah said.

"I think scaring the shit out of us has been his strategy for the last seven months," Mac said. "Now it'll just get reinforced."

The team arrived at the hotel and waited in the bus for a few minutes while Walter and Herb took care of checking the team in. After they came back with room assignments, the guys got their room keys and were ready to head upstairs.

"Hey OC, I think the room is this way," Mac told his road roommate when they got to the fifth floor.

"No, five twenty is this way," OC told Mac and pointed to a sign as evidence.

"My key says five-oh-five."

After the other guys compared their keys too, they realized Herb mixed up the normal road pairs. Mac was with Rizzo instead of OC, OC was with Phil, Bah was with Silky, and the mix ups went on.

"Well, that's okay," Bah said. Bah motioned between himself and Silky and said, "We were roommates in Europe before we got switched up the first time." After Europe, Herb switched many of the guys around but no one cared because it was so early on they weren't accustomed to their rooming situations yet.

"No, this is not okay," Mac said. "He can't switch it up now. I need to room with OC."

"Yeah, there's no way we're tipping the balance now," OC said in agreement.

"So you superstitious hockey players figured it out then?" Riley asked, just having arrived on the floor.

"Herb can't do this to us," Buzz said. "I say we all switch rooms so we're in our normal pairs."

"Well, Silky has to keep whatever room he was given. If not he'll complain about getting switched," Pav said.

"I'm right here you know," Silky reminded him. "And I will not complain. What on earth would I have to complain about?"

"Getting a 'worse' room," Pav said and rolled his eyes, as if no rooms were really better or worse than others.

"Look, I like my bed facing a certain way, alright!" Silky half shouted, as if he had to defend himself every single time they checked into a hotel.

"And you have to have the bed closer to the window," Pav added laughing.

"I wouldn't be talking Pavy," Silky said. "If I remember correctly, you're the one who has a night light in the bathroom."

"Shut up, Silk," Pav said, shoving his teammate hard against the wall. "You know I only turn it on when I'm drunk."

"You're scared of the dark when you're drunk?" Rizzo asked. "How come this isn't common knowledge on the team? I feel like there have been many times this should have come out already."

"I'm not scared of the dark when I'm drunk. One time in college I was drunk and couldn't see from the combination of it being dark and having blurry vision, and I almost got a concussion tripping over my _roommates_ fricken' hockey bag and almost hitting my head on the sink."

"Sorry," Bah said, taking the hint when Pav stressed 'roommate'. Pav and Bah were roommates in college.

"Riley, are you on this floor?" Bah then asked, noticing Riley was walking toward a room with a key.

Riley nodded.

"Ugh," Phil said. "That means Herb is on this floor too?"

"Yep, we all are," Riley said. Sometimes Riley hated being the only girl, because she was usually stuck in her uncle's room on road trips. It wasn't a big deal, but Riley liked having her own room whenever possible.

"Just wonderful," Bah said sarcastically. "That means we might not be able to switch rooms."

"You can still switch," Riley told them. "It's not like Herb'll check each room individually."

"Are you sure about that?" Mac asked.

"No," Riley laughed.

* * *

The next night was the big pre-Olympic game against the Soviets. The team went through their pregame rituals being careful not to mess any of their routines up. A lot of nervous energy could also be felt in the locker room. Everyone was tense and on edge. Riley tried to remind them that it was only a 'warm-up' game and that it didn't really mean anything, but it didn't help their nerves much, and besides that, it wasn't completely true.

Hearing Herb and Walter discuss things, Riley knew that this game was bigger than her uncle was letting on, and she figured the guys knew it too. According to Herb, the reason the USOC agreed to schedule the game was for an Olympic promotion. Fans were getting revved up for the Olympics and a preview to the biggest potential match up of the games was sure to increase the enthusiasm. People wanted to see a good contest though, not a blow out.

Further, although Riley herself down played the game for the guy's sake, she was also nervous. She tried her best not to show it because she wanted the guys to see that someone felt calm, confident, and not so jittery. Riley's biggest concern was that the guys didn't lose confidence by playing the Soviets now. The US team had come such a long way together and built their confidence throughout their exhibition schedule, but a bad game as dictated by the final score had the potential to set them back.

The first period began with the Soviets scoring a go ahead goal early on. It was on a breakaway, and one that shouldn't have happened. After the first goal, things continued going downhill. By the time the third period came around, they were finishing the game just as a technicality. The score was eight to two, and for all intents and purposes, the game was over. The two goals the team scored so far were just a matter of chance and basically pure luck. One was on a power play and the other was on a freak breakaway that happened only because the Soviets were in the middle of a line change.

Riley was watching the game intensely from her spot on the bench. She was happy to be on the bench, because sometimes she was required to sit in the stands. If there wasn't enough room, she was always the first to get booted. Tonight, Herb had her watching the Soviet team and paying attention to their 'weaknesses'. Riley was beginning to think his request was a rhetorical one, because throughout the game so far, Riley realized the Soviet team really didn't have any weaknesses.

Riley began looking around at the crowd now, taking it all in. With each addition to the Soviet goal tally, the crowd became more and more apathetic. _At least they were into the game for the first period,_ Riley thought.

Riley looked back to the ice just in time to see OC get hit and knocked down to the ice. The team had been getting pushed around quite a bit that night, and there were a lot of falls, so at first, neither Riley nor anyone else gave the hit a second thought. When OC didn't get up, everyone on the team, including Riley and the coaching staff, started to worry.

An icing call soon followed the hit, and once play was stopped, the guys on the ice skated over to check on OC.

"You okay, man?" Rammer asked.

"I need Doc," OC responded, pain evident in his voice.

"Doc," Rammer called and waved over to the bench. Doc hurried onto the ice, leaving everyone wondering how bad the injury was.

Although it took several minutes to get OC off the ice and for play to start up again, time passed in a blur. Riley was sent to the locker room to get ice and the rest of the medical equipment set up, so she didn't even get the chance to see whether OC was okay or not. On the bench, the guys were all talking about OC and trying to speculate on the extent of the injury. Herb remained as composed as ever, almost as if it didn't phase him. Applause rang through the arena once OC was being helped to the bench and down the hallway to head into the locker room.

Riley got back to the bench after she finished in the locker without getting to see OC at all or hearing anything about his condition. She wasn't of much help to his inquiring teammates when she returned to the bench.

"Sorry," she told Rizzo, who was the only to actually voice his concern. Everyone else was just looking at Riley with an expected look, as if she would just offer information. "I don't know anything," she added, wishing she could have given the guy's good news.

After the game, Riley immediately went back to see how OC was doing. At this point, he was alone in the room with ice on his knee. Riley figured Doc had gone to take care of things concerning the hockey player.

"Hey," Riley said, poking her head in the room, almost like she was afraid to come in all the way.

OC didn't respond, but looked over at Riley and nodded a silent hi.

"How's the knee?"

"Hurts like hell," OC grimaced.

Riley walked over to the table where OC was laying and stood next to it. "Doc know what's wrong with it?"

"No," OC said. "I think it's bad though. He wouldn't tell me much. Only said that it's better if we wait for the x-rays to make any diagnosis."

"I'm sure it'll be okay, OC."

"I don't know about that," he replied, sounding as unhopeful as ever.

"Well, it doesn't look too bad," Riley said, trying to sound optimistic.

"Of course it doesn't look bad. You can't see the ligaments and tendons, and whatever else… it hurts like a mother fucker though."

Riley just smiled a weak smile at OC's comment. She didn't realize he was being sarcastic with the first part of his statement. "I'm gonna go see if Herb needs anything. I'll be back soon," Riley said, and patted OC's shoulder.

After Riley found out that Doc was heading to a local hospital with OC, Riley begged to go.

"Please Uncle Herb. I really want to go with him. He needs someone there for support."

"That's why Doc is going, Riley."

"But Herb," Riley said, abandoning the use of 'Uncle'. "I think he really needs me there."

Riley sensed that Herb didn't feel like arguing, because he sighed and said, "Alright, fine, you can go," almost immediately.

"Thank you!" Riley said. She wanted OC to have someone to talk to, and she knew Doc just wouldn't cut it. Besides, Riley figured Doc would need to be making arrangements and talking to the doctors, and OC would be alone for the most part if Riley wasn't there.

Riley then ran back to the room OC was still in and bounded inside excitedly.

"Guess what?"

OC just looked at Riley with a straight face, wondering what on earth she was so happy about right then. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing to be excited about.

"I get to keep you company at the hospital tonight."

"Wonderful," OC said sarcastically. He wasn't in the mood to share in Riley's excitement. Honestly, he didn't care who was at the hospital. He could be alone and it would make no difference to him. The only thing that mattered was hearing that he would be able to play in the Olympics.

"Well, I thought you'd be a little happier," Riley responded, this time noticing OC's sarcastic tone.

"Look Riley, I'm sorry if I'm not_ happy _enough for you, but I'm not going to pretend everything will be okay, because I don't know that yet!" OC yelled.

"Jack, I'm just trying to help," Riley said, sounding defeated. "And you have to think positively. Everything will be okay," she stressed, trying to show some optimism in her voice.

"How the hell do you know that?" OC spat.

"I'm sorry Jack," Riley said, realizing she was making the already upset hockey player ever angrier.

"Don't be sorry, just stop," he said, sounding frustrated.

After a minute of silence, Riley spoke up again. "Does your knee feel any better than it did before?" She was just asking because he wasn't crying anymore, and he didn't look like he was in as much pain. She was also trying to make small talk and thereby gauge if he was still upset.

"Yeah, it does," OC answered, with an exasperated sigh.

"Did Doc say what he thought might be wrong?"

"No, Riley, he didn't!" OC yelled. Then, he went on, "Jesus, I thought we've already been over this! Would you just leave me the fuck alone? I don't want to talk to you right now."

"I'm just trying to help," Riley said softly.

"You. Can't. Help!" OC shouted. "You're _NOT_ making me feel better. You're so God damned annoying and just making everything worse. So for the love of God, shut the fuck up and leave me the hell alone!" Then OC muttered, "And she wonders why no one on this team liked her."

Riley heard everything, including the comment OC didn't really mean for her to her, and she was hurt. She glared at OC, and then stormed out of the room, not wanting to deal with him.

_I don't have to deal with his crap, _Riley thought angrily. _I was trying to be nice. Instead he screams at me and treats me like he still hates me. I'm not that annoying, _the teen thought sadly. She was still angry, but at the same time, she was also upset. What OC said had really hurt her. She hoped the guys didn't see her as annoying. _Do they all think I should just leave them alone?_

"Riley, Doc's about ready to go," Herb said, pulling his niece from her thoughts.

"I think I'd rather go with the team. OC doesn't need me," Riley said sadly.

"Okay Riley, you can head to the bus then," Herb replied casually. Riley knew he was clearly too dense to tell she was upset.

* * *

A sulky Riley climb on the bus and took the empty aisle seat next to Mac. Rizzo and Buzz were sitting on the opposite side of the aisle, the three guys all talking to one another.

"I thought you were going with OC?" Mac questioned.

"Yeah, not anymore," Riley answered.

"What's wrong?" Mac asked, sounding concerned.

"Nothing," Riley responded.

"You can't fool me," Mac told her. He thought she looked like she was ready to cry.

"Am I annoying?" Riley asked. "Please be honest."

"No," Mac answered.

"OC seems to think so," Riley said, now holding back tears.

Mac didn't know what to say, so he looked across the aisle at Rizzo and Buzz. Not that they would know what to say either, but he hoped they would.

Rizzo sighed. Dealing with Riley was not something he enjoyed, but he knew OC really well, so he actually knew he could help.

Rizzo leaned across the aisle and put his hand on Riley's shoulder.

"OC's just upset. Don't let what he says get to you."

"But he was really mad. I've never seen him so upset unless he's on the ice. Even when we fought constantly, he was never that angry."

"Have you ever heard the expression that people take things out on the ones they care about the most?" Rizzo asked.

"Dude, that's not an expression," Mac said with a laugh.

"Does it matter?" Rizzo asked. "It's the point. People still say something like that," Rizzo said.

"But that doesn't make it an expression," Mac argued. He noticed that he got a smile out of Riley at his arguing with Rizzo.

"It's still true," Rizzo said, getting frustrated and not realizing Mac was just teasing him to make Riley smile. "Anyway Riley, you and OC have a special sort of relationship. I don't understand it at all," Rizzo said, and tried to flash Riley an encouraging smile, "but you do. And I think he was just taking it all out on you. He couldn't take it out on any of us," Rizzo said, meaning the team, "because we weren't in there. And he knew better than to take it out on Herb, or Doc, or Coach Patrick. You were the only one available."

"I'm sure he would have like to take it out on that ass that hit him," Buzz said, referring to the Soviet player that caused the injury.

Riley smiled. "I'm sure he would have. Then she added, "I just hope he gets the chance." The guys knew by this Riley meant she hoped OC would be able to play in the games.

"We all do, Riley," Rizzo said.

"I sure hope it's a sunny and bright when we play the Soviets again," Mac said. "OC was right about the sky yesterday morning being a bad premonition."


	35. Chapter 34: Livin' On a Prayer

Peachy65: Thanks for reviewing. You'll see things start to develop between OC and Riley soon. Enjoy the chapter!

NellieBly413672: Thanks for your review, glad you liked it. The premonitions will come into play later too!

Dahlia687: Thanks for your review! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and hope you enjoy this one too.

A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long to get up. I know I basically promised that I wouldn't make my wonderful readers wait so long again, but school and life in general just got in the way… SO here it is. Please review. Just another quick note, this story has about three chapters left, but I am excited about an idea for a new story, which I will start working on once this is finished. I don't have a title in mind yet, but I will probably begin posting that this summer. Without further adieu…

**Chapter 34: Livin' on a Prayer**

The next afternoon, the team bus arrived in the Olympic Village and they headed to the Olympic Welcome Center and check in area. Herb figured Doc and OC, who they were meeting there, had probably arrived already. The team was two hours behind schedule because they stopped for lunch on the way.

Once Herb and everyone else made it inside, Doc spotted them and called Herb over. Riley hung back with the guys, figuring she would get the information from her uncle or OC later.

OC came over to join the group a minute later, and explained that he stretched a ligament in his knee and it wasn't torn. He said that he didn't know what Herb was going to do though. He then glanced at Riley, who looked away quickly. Although talking to Rizzo the previous night made her feel better, Riley wasn't going to let OC off the hook that easily. What he said really hurt.

The guys all began checking in and picking up their ID badges and room keys. At this point Riley headed over to the USA staff, because she had to check in with Herb. Riley was extremely excited when Herb told her she would have her own room. There were single occupancy rooms where the team was staying, so each member of the staff got their own room.

After everyone finished checking in and looking around, they were ready to head to the hotel. Herb noticed OC standing alone on the ice, and decided to take the opportunity to talk to him about playing.

On the bus, everyone noticed that the only two people that were missing were Herb and OC.

"What do you think is going on?" asked Rizzo. He was worried about his friend getting cut.

"I don't know, man," Bah told him. "I hope Herb's keeping him."

"Me too," Rammer said.

Riley sat by herself, listening to the guy's concerns over OC. In the beginning, actually even up until two months ago, Riley wanted OC gone. Now, she couldn't imagine the team without him, (even if she was mad at him). The teenager couldn't believe how much changed in seven months!

"I got some good news!" a very happy sounding OC said after hobbling up the bus stairs.

"You playing?" Mac asked with a grin.

"Hell yeah!"

Cheers erupted from everyone on the bus. It took a few minutes to settle down and get going, and then everyone was still clearly excited after the five minute drive to the hotel. It was like hearing that their teammate and friend was staying ignited a spark in them.

Herb was really glad to see everyone so happy. He wanted OC to remain on the team, not only because he was an excellent leader, an exceptionally good defensemen, and strong physical presence, but also because Herb knew his confidence in OC could motivate the guys.

* * *

Once the team arrived at the hotel, they got their bags organized and sorted so they could head to their rooms and crash. Between the game the previous night and the long bus ride that began early in the morning, they were all pretty tired. The opening ceremonies and preliminary round games weren't for another two days, so Herb gave the team the rest of the day off to rest up.

Riley made it up to her room and after dumping her bag down she sprawled across the bed, just laying there and enjoying her quiet surroundings. A few minutes later, she thought she heard a knock at the door but it was hard to tell because it was a really light tapping. Riley hesitantly got up and went to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw OC on his crutches.

Hey," Riley said upon opening the door.

"Hey, Riley. How's it going?" OC asked, making small talk.

"I'm feeling pretty good considering I have my own room for the next two weeks," Riley said, flashing a smile.

OC smiled back, but the smile disappeared a few seconds later and was replaced with a more serious look.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

"Sure, come on in. I don't want your other leg getting worn out from standing there." Riley opened the door wider so OC could hobble in.

He took a seat on the bed because that happened to be the closest place to the door to sit. Riley sat next to him, leaving a couple inches space between them.

"What's up?" Riley asked. She thought she already knew why he was there, but she figured she'd ask anyway.

"I wanted to apologize for the yesterday," OC said with a sigh. "I know I was being an ass and you didn't deserve it. I was just so upset, and I needed to take it out on someone. I shouldn't have taken it out on you though."

Riley loved how remorseful OC looked. She decided to relish in this for a moment. "No, you shouldn't have taken it out on me."

"I know," OC said, still sounding as sorry as ever. He was worried Riley wouldn't forgive him. She had every right not to. He had acted like a complete jerk and it was totally uncalled for.

"So why did you?" Riley asked pointedly, sounding upset at him.

OC sighed and massaged his temples. "Jeez, Ri, I don't even know. You were there, an easy target I guess. I'm so sorry."

OC looked at Riley and knew the look she was giving him either meant she was trying to decide whether to forgive him or she was trying to decide whether he was truly sorry.

"Please, Ri?"

Then, Riley gave OC a huge smile and wrapped her arms around him in a giant hug. OC sort of pushed her away and asked, "So am I forgiven then?" he asked, a smile appearing on his face.

"Of course! I was just giving you a hard time. After your comments last night, I couldn't let you off the hook that easy!"

OC then shoved Riley a little. "Jerk!" he joked. "You had me thinking you hated me."

"I do hate you," Riley said, a glimmer in eyes.

"I hate you too," OC shot back, also being playful. "I better get going. If Herb stops by my room and finds out I'm not elevating my leg and resting, I'll be headed back to Boston faster than you can 'Gold Medal'."

"Okay, see you later." Riley followed OC to the door and just as she was shutting it behind him, she stopped him. "What room are you in? In case I get bored later I might stop by."

"If you're bored? I thought maybe you'd stop by to wait on me because I'm injured or something." OC said with a big grin.

"Yeah, maybe I'd help 'ya out too."

"I'm right next door," OC told her.

"No, really, Jack," Riley said, rolling in eyes. "What room are you in?"

"I really am next door."

"Our rooms adjoin?" Riley asked, sounding excited. She knew he was beginning to head to the left, which was in the direction of the adjoining room, so if the room was right next door, Riley knew their rooms were connected.

"Yeah, guess so."

Riley laughed. "I feel like we could have fun with that."

"Oh God, Riley…" OC began, laughing. "I can only imagine what you have in mind."

"Don't tell Mac our rooms connect!" Riley warned OC. "We have to come up with a prank or something to play on him."

"Well, you better come up with something quick. I feel like I will definitely be taking advantage of your offer to wait on me, and since you're right next door, it'll be that much easier."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Riley said, shaking her head, silently wondering why she offered. She heard OC laughing to himself as he hobbled along to his room.

* * *

Two days later was the team's first game against Sweden. Going into the game they felt pretty confident, but that quickly diminished as they got off to a rocky start.

In the months leading up to the games, the team spent so much time mentally and physically preparing for a matchup with the Soviets. Even though Herb was incorporated activities and drills to prepare them to play any opponent, the guys always kept a possible Soviet game in the back of their minds and sort of neglected the fact that they needed to beat other teams first to even play the Soviets. Herb did put more emphasis on playing against the Soviets, and the team knew it would be their toughest test; and one that they needed to pass in order to win the gold medal.

At the end of the second period, the team was tie with Sweden at one, and they were a little discouraged. Everyone in the locker room knew they should have been winning, no contest. Even though Sweden was ranked pretty high up, they played teams of their caliber and beat them without a problem.

It was not only discouraging that they were losing, but they were concerned about injuries. First OC, and now in this game, Mac's leg was hurt. The team was quietly waiting for Herb to come in, hoping they would play a bit better the following period. They knew they had to get something going because they weren't playing their best, and the Swedes were.

Herb was even more than discouraged though – he was completely livid. Riley followed her incensed uncle into the locker room and was almost scared at the events that unfolded. After Herb went totally crazy, flipping a table over and yelling at the team, he went after Mac, calling him out more or less, for getting hurt. Riley couldn't believe what she was hearing.

_It's not like it was Mac's fault Doc said he couldn't play, _she thought.

_Can't he see Mac's in pain?_ Riley then wondered. _It's like Herb has no sympathy at all. _Riley was even more surprised when Mac went after Herb in return. The guys were holding Mac back while he was screaming and yelling. Now Mac was also furious. Riley wasn't sure what to do. On one hand, she wanted to follow her Uncle so she didn't have to witness fighting and screaming in the locker room. One the other hand, she didn't want to be anywhere near her Uncle either. Times like this was when having to sit in the stands would be advantageous.

Riley ended up opting to hang back in the locker room. After a minute, Mac calmed down a bit, though she could tell he was still furious at Herb. Riley noticed he also looked kind of hurt.

While Riley was just observing all that had transpired in the locker room, the guys were actually living it. No one thought Herb had any right to single Mac out, and they were even more upset now than they had been.

Normally Rizzo stepped up between periods to give a pep talk, whether they were winning or losing, but this time, he just didn't know what to say. Personally, he thought Herb said enough. Rizzo knew no one wanted to hear they were playing well at this point, because Herb didn't think they were at all, but he couldn't honestly say they were playing terrible either. Instead of talking to the team as a whole, he went over to Mac after he had a chance to cool down.

"Hey, man," Rizzo began and paused. Mac looked up at him without a response. "You're not a quitter. You work harder than almost anyone on this team, so don't let him get to you. Herb's just mad. It's not fair to make you play, but we all behind you," Rizzo finished, speaking on behalf of the team.

Mac nodded and thanked Rizzo for the bout of confidence. He knew the team had his back, but after Herb's harsh words, the reminder was nice.

With a minute and twenty seconds left, Jimmy was replaced with an extra attacker. Silky, Johnson, Buzz, Rammer, Pav, and Baker were all on the ice, and Riley was almost too scared to watch. She knew they needed to score. Although they went into the third period tied, Sweden scored to get the lead just a few minutes into the period. The bright side was that the guys were playing harder this period, but Sweden was still matching up. Riley was glad that Mac was doing okay as well. She could tell he was in pain, but at least he wasn't making his leg worse by playing.

With twenty seven seconds left, Baker took a slap shot just inside the blue line. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as the team watched from the bench. The puck passed Lindbergh. The goal light went on. The crowd went wild. Everyone on the bench charged the ice in celebration of the tying goal, some practically knocking Baker over in their excitement.

Riley fought the urge to run onto the ice, mainly because the rest of the staff was celebrating from the bench. She then turned to OC, who was also celebrating from the bench, not being able to get onto the ice easily and gave him a high five. "That was amazing!"

"Sure was," OC replied.

"Woohoo!" Mac yelled as he skated over to the bench. He was still on the ice side of the boards but managed to hug Riley with one arm and attempted to hug OC with the other.

"We did it!" he said, talking about the tie. The rest of the guys began skating over to the bench now, still excited but ready to head to the locker room. Many of them had post game plans with family and/or significant others and now that they were in a celebratory mood they were even more excited to go out.

"What are you doing tonight Riley?" OC asked as Riley was passing through the locker room on her way out. She always hurried out of section where the guys were changing because although she had been around for several months, it still slipped many of their minds that a girl was around.

"Not much. Probably chilling in my room."

"Same here. Well, after I grab a bite to eat with my family. Want to chill together?"

"Sure," Riley said, happy that she would have some company. "I think you remember where my room is right?" she said with a wink.

"I think I'll be able to find it," OC joked back. Then he stopped Riley again. "Why don't you come out with us?" he asked, meaning 'out' with his family. "You have to be hungry."

Riley hesitated. She didn't want to impose if the hockey player just wanted some time with his family. He hadn't seen them in months. "Well, if you're sure," Riley said, not sounding completely committed.

"Yeah, I'm totally sure. Besides, if you're there, they'll try to include you in the conversation too, and that means they won't dwell too much on my injury," OC said.

Riley smiled. "Okay, I'll meet you outside."

"Be out in a few," OC said, knowing he could leave after Herb made any comments he wanted to about the game. It wasn't like he needed to shower and get cleaned up or anything – the only bright side to not playing.

As the guys were finishing their showers and getting dressed they left the locker room to meet their families. Mark had plans to get something to eat with his parents and Emma that night. His siblings weren't in Lake Placid yet, which he was sort of thankful for because the four of them could be a bit much all together. Emma insisted she knew how it was because she had two sisters and Bah, but Mark knew she couldn't possibly have experienced anything quite like his two brothers and two sisters. Mark also wasn't sure how he felt about Emma meeting his parents. It wasn't like he had a choice because Lake Placid was only so big that they were bound to meet at some point during the next couple weeks. Mark mainly wasn't sure about the meeting because it seemed like such a big step. He wasn't even sure what would happen after the Olympics ended, so having his parents meet Emma seemed a little premature. Besides that, Emma probably wouldn't even be at the games if it wasn't for Bah, her best friend and pseudo brother, playing.

"Have you seen OC?" Rizzo asked Mark, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Not since before I got in the shower," Mark replied.

"He left already," Verchota piped up.

"Shit, really?" Rizzo asked. He really needed to talk to his best friend. Not that OC had the experience to give him advice with what he needed, but he wanted to hear his thoughts nonetheless.

"What do you need?" Verchota asked.

"I just need to ask him something," Rizzo said, purposely trying to be vague.

"And what's that? Verchota asked, not letting up.

"It's none of your business," Rizzo told him, not rudely, but just firmly. "I got to get out of here. I'll have to talk to OC tomorrow," Rizzo said, more to himself than anyone else.

Rizzo's plans for the night included seeing his family, but more importantly, he seeing Pam and her parents, who were also in town for the games. They were all going to dinner together that night which Rizzo knew would be interesting because it would be the first time his parents and Pam's parents were meeting each other. He really hoped everything went okay. Pam kept telling him it was no big, that they would all get along great, but Rizzo still had doubts. Pam's reassurance did make him feel slightly better though.

Just like the other guys with girlfriends or wives, Bah was excited to see Kristen. He was even more excited because his parents and older brother would be meeting Kristen for the first time. Bah just knew they would love her. When he walked out of the locker room, he spotted Kristen immediately.

"Hey baby," he said, greeting her with a quick kiss.

"Nice game," Kristen commented.

"Thanks, we needed that tie," Bah said. The team would have preferred a win, but with the way the game began, a tie was something to be happy about. Bah then noticed his family standing nearby, looking around for Bah. "Kristen, my family's over there. Ready to meet them?"

"Uh, yeah," Kristen said, trying to sound like she wasn't nervous at all.

Bah squeezed her arm and said, "They're going to love you."

"Mom, Dad," Bah said, leading Kristen and waving to his parents.

"John!" his mother said, reaching out to give her son a big hug. "Wonderful game!"

"Thanks mom," Bah replied. He knew better than to argue with her and say he hadn't played his best. Even if he caused a game losing turnover, his mom would still say he played great.

After introducing Kristen to his parents and brother, they went on their way to get a bite to eat. Bah noticed Kristen's ease in making conversation with his family, and wondered why she was ever nervous. She was a natural at talking to people and had such a friendly personality that she had no reason to be worried about meeting anyone, especially his parents.

"Kristen, Bah talks about you all the time. It feels like I've known you for years already," Bah's mother told her.

Kristen blushed and quickly responded, "I just hope he didn't make me sound too good to be true." She looked at Bah, hoping to get a sign that things were going okay so far. She thought they were but always had trouble reading these types of situations.

"Well, you seem pretty wonderful so far," the mother replied, giving Kristen exactly what she wanted to hear.

* * *

Later that evening, Riley and OC were watching TV in Riley's room when OC noticed it was getting late.

"Well, it's been fun, but I should probably make my way next door now. Early day tomorrow."

"Thanks again for letting me hang out with your family tonight, Jack."

"No problem. I think my sister thought you were really cool."

"She sort of reminds me of Erin, except a little older version." OC's sister was 14 and a high school freshman, so she was at the age where she looked up to, and tried to befriend girls that were a little older than she was.

"I'm just lucky my cousin didn't come with them," OC said. Riley gave him a quizzical look. She heard his father mention that OC's 20 year old cousin couldn't come because he was in a hockey tournament that week, but Riley didn't know why it would have made a difference.

OC went onto explain, "He's like me in so many ways. I would have really had to keep an eye on him," OC finished, winking at Riley before heading to the door.

Riley sat there for a minute, trying to process what OC had just said. _Was he really just hitting on me?_ She thought, confused. _Nah, _she told herself. _That's just what Jack does. Flirt is his middle name. _The only time he didn't flirt with a girl was when he really disliked her. _Like when we first met, _Riley thought.

Suddenly, Riley had an idea, having nothing to do with her previous thoughts. "Wait, don't leave yet."

OC stopped, wondering why Riley sounded so excited.

"I have a prank we can play." Riley quickly explained her trick to OC and they set the plan in motion.

Riley walked out of the room and next door to Mac and OC's room. She knocked on the door and waited for Mac to answer. Riley hoped this would work. OC was supposed to go into his room through the adjoining door as Mac was at the door with Riley.

Mac pulled his door open. "What's up?"

"Nuth-thin," Riley said, trying to keep a fairly straight face. Mac just raised his eyebrows, wondering why she knocked on the door. "Is OC here?" Riley finally asked.

"No."

"Could you check?" Riley asked. She knew OC was in the room now because she just saw him over Mac's shoulder.

"He's not here."

"How can you be so sure if you haven't checked?" Riley said.

"Because it's a one room hotel room. Unless he's been hiding under the bed for the hour since I got back, he's not here."

"Just humor me," Riley said. "Check." Now Riley could barely keep the smile off her face.

"Go away," Mac said, not trying to sound mean, but not trying to be overly nice either.

"Please?" Riley said, giving him a pouty face.

"Why don't you check for yourself?"

"Okay, I will." Riley pushed in past Mac. Mac rolled his eyes and shook his head, wondering why Riley had to be so difficult when he heard, "Hey OC. Mac told me you weren't here."

Mac spun around quickly, and blinked twice when he saw OC sitting comfortably on his bed.

"Wha – What?" Mac asked, stuttering. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, this is my room," OC responded. "I thought I could be in here."

"Um, no," Mac said.

"No?" OC asked. "I can't be in here?"

"No, that's not what I meant," Mac said, still really confused. Riley began giggling uncontrollably.

"What did you mean?" OC asked.

"You were not in here a minute ago."

"Yeah I was."

"No."

"Yes. You were asleep," OC said.

"No I wasn't."

"Yeah."

"No," Mac said. "I was watching TV and I was _alone_. I _know_ I was alone."

"Look man, you weren't alone," OC said, successfully keeping a straight face. "And don't feel bad. Everyone masturbates in their dreams from time to time."

With that, Riley dropped to the floor laughing. When she told OC to play along with whatever happened, she hadn't expected such a good improv.

Mac just stared at OC dumbfounded. "I wasn't masturbating in my dream! I was here alone."

"Sorry, dude," OC said. "But you must have been dreaming. If you were awake and masturbating, I would notice."

"I was not! I wasn't dreaming, I wasn't masturbating in a dream, and I wasn't masturbating at all!"

OC shrugged. "Well, you were so sure you were '_alone_', I thought you must have a reason to believe you were alone."

"I was alone. I was watching the Olympics."

"No, I was watching this. You were asleep," OC said. Mac noticed the news was now on TV.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?" OC asked.

"The TV was on the NBC."

"Well, it actually wasn't. I was watching the news," OC pointed out. "But if I had changed the channel, it's a little something called a remote." Then OC continued, "I know they're a halfway new invention, but they've been around long enough that you should know how they work."

"No," Mac said. "I mean, how did you get in here? You were not here. And Riley, why the hell are you laughing?"

"I'm sorry, Riley said, between giggles. "It's just so funny."

"What is?"

"Nothing," she answered. "Jack's comments," she then admitted, still laughing."

"Riley, I really hope you don't pee on my floor from laughing so hard," OC said.

Mac ignored this, still trying to get to the bottom of how OC got in. "OC, this is not funny anymore! I want to know how you got in. If you don't tell me I'll…" Mac left his threat empty.

"You'll what?" Riley wondered. "Call the cops and tell them your roommate broke into your shared room?"

"Just tell me already!" Mac yelled, ignoring Riley.

"Okay, fine," OC said. "But you have to promise me something," OC said, looking really serious.

"I climbed in through the window." More laughter from Riley, which Mac continued to ignore. Instead he just looked at OC with a deadpan expression.

"How the hell did you climb through the window? You're an invalid."

"That's not funny," OC said.

"I'm not trying to be funny, or make fun of invalids. But there is no way in hell you climbed through that window."

"I really did. I forgot my key and didn't think you were here, so I just climbed up."

"I'm not Verchota!" Mac yelled. "I'm not dumb enough to believe you climbed through a window five floors up!"

"Are you implying Verchota's dumb?" OC asked.

"Stop changing the subject," Mac said. "I want to know how you got in here without using the door."

"I have special powers," OC said, not trying to sound serious, but instead almost bored with the continued interrogation.

"Come on, OC. Again, I'm not Verchota."

OC looked at Riley to silently ask if they should just tell him the truth.

"He did come in through the door," Riley said.

"Riley, would you fucking shut up?" Mac yelled.

"I'm telling the truth!" she said, laughing again.

"I was at the door. He didn't walk in."

"He used the other door."

"There's only one door."

Riley pointed to the door that adjoined to her room.

"It's an adjoining door. It only leads to the next-" Mac stopped himself, suddenly realizing what had gone on. He opened the door. Upon opening the second of the two doors, he stepped into Riley's room.

"You guys are so clever," Mac said, dryly.

"I know," Riley replied, smiling.

"That was good," OC told Riley.

"You were funny," she told her partner in crime.

"You two are ridiculous. You honestly thought I wouldn't figure it out?" Mac asked.

"Honestly," OC began, "I thought you would have figured it out long before you did. Guess you're more like Verchota than I thought," OC laughed.

"Haha, very funny," Mac said. Once the laughter was over, and Mac got over being pranked, Riley went back to her room, through the adjoining doors and shut hers with the click of the lock echoing softly in the room she just left.

Mac went up to the door. "Yeah you better make sure that's locked. Since we have adjoining rooms, I can come get you while you're sleeping!" Through the wall he could hear Riley's laugh.


	36. Chapter 35: Give it All You Got

Peachy65: Thanks, there's a lot that's going to unfold so stay tuned. Glad you're enjoying it!

NellieBly413672: Thanks! Glad you liked it and thought the prank scene was funny. Enjoy the chapter.

Skyler1510: Thanks for your review! Glad you liked it and I could make you laugh.

A/N: Okay, I know it's been a while, I'm really sorry. I hope I still have readers out there! Some good news: I have most of my next chapter written and I'm on spring break this week, so you won't have to wait long. (I'm updating Sunday at the very latest, but it could be as early as Friday.) I know this chapter's kind of short, but enjoy and please review! One more thing – this chapter's title was the theme song for the 1980 Winter Olympics.

**Chapter 35: Give It All You Got**

The morning after the game against Sweden, most of the guys got up pretty early so they could head down to breakfast at the hotel. A "buffet" breakfast always gave them extra incentive to get up. Some of the guys were convinced that the early they got down there, the better the food was.

Riley got up early as well so she could meet everyone for breakfast. When she walked out of her hotel, she ran into none other than Mac.

"Good morning," Riley said happily. She said it with a little extra oomph, because she knew after the prank her and OC played on him last night, he would probably get annoyed.

Mac didn't respond, but glared at the teen instead.

"Come on, Mac," Riley began. She laughed a little and said, "We played a little trick on you. Get over it."

"It wasn't that funny," Mac commented.

"Oh come on. Now I know you're lying," Riley said. "You're trying to hold in the laughter."

"Am not."

"Are too," Riley said.

Mac knew he could continue, but didn't want to so he changed the subject as they were waiting for the elevator.

"What do you think they'll have to eat?"

"I don't know. I hope they have blueberry bagels though. I'm craving a blueberry bagel," Riley said, stepping on the elevator with Mac following.

As soon as they got downstairs, they noticed most of the team sitting at a big table. It didn't look like there were any spots left, but they walked over anyway.

"Pull up another table and some chairs," Verchota told them.

Riley looked over towards an empty table and noticed one of the workers giving the group a glare.

"Are you sure it's okay?" Riley asked, turning back to face the group. "That girl looks pissed."

"Eh, don't worry about it," Silky said. "We already did enough furniture rearranging in here." Before Riley and Mac got downstairs, the other guys had pulled tables together so they could sit as a team.

Riley and Mac pulled a table over and then went to get food. Mac went for food first, grabbing a bagel. Riley got some orange juice first, and then went to get a bagel. She was trying to look through them, using the tongs, for a blueberry one.

"Ugh, they have everything but blueberry," she commented to no one in particular.

Mac laughed to himself and after getting a bowl of fruit and a glass of milk he went to sit down. Riley followed Mac to the table and noticed the smirk on his face. She looked at the plate Mac was holding and saw a blueberry bagel.

"What the hell, Mac?" Riley confronted him as he sat down next to Silk. Mac pretended like he didn't know what Riley was talking about.

"You took the last blueberry bagel. _After_ I told you I really wanted a blueberry bagel."

"So, I got there first. I happened to want one too."

"That's bullshit, Mac, and you know it!" Riley said, her voice raised.

Mac laughed at Riley's expense, then, he said, "That'll teach you to play pranks on me."

Riley rolled her eyes and sat down next to OC. "You're an asshole."

"Fine," Mac said, handing Riley the bagel. "You can have it. It's apparently a really big deal to you, because you look like you're about to cry, so take it."

"I am not about to cry," Riley said, half laughing. "I'm just pissed off."

"Well, take the bagel then," Mac said.

"I don't want it anymore," Riley said stubbornly crossing her arms.

"I don't blame you Riley," Silky said. "After his dirty paws have been all over it." Mac gave Silky a little shove.

"Really, Riley. Take it," he tried again. "I was joking by taking it, I really don't want it."

"No, no, you took it. If I wanted it that badly I should have come down earlier."

"Like when I came to get you this morning," OC said, jumping in. The guys within earshot gave OC a funny look, wondering why he would go out of his way to walk down to breakfast with Riley.

Mac then said what everyone else wanted to, but what no one else did. "Why'd you go to Riley's room? If you wanted someone to walk down to breakfast with you, I would have."

"You weren't ready."

"Neither was Riley apparently."

"Which is why I didn't wait. If I had waited, I would have had to fight three-way for last blueberry bagel," he said with a laugh. Then OC turned to Riley and said, "You should have just come down here with me. Then you wouldn't have to put up with Mac's shit."

"I told you I wasn't ready," Riley responded. At this point, Riley and OC were having a private conversation that no one else was a part of, though everyone else was listening to.

"You were dressed. How is that not ready?" OC wondered, almost rhetorically, though Riley replied anyway.

"I needed to fix my hair and put some makeup on," Riley said. She didn't wear much makeup, usually just lip gloss and a little eyeliner and mascara to bring out her eyes.

"Why do girl's need makeup to go anywhere?" Silky wondered aloud, joining their conversation as if to remind the two that there were a bunch of people at the table.

"Because we never know when we'll run into a cute guy," Riley said easily. "And with all the athletes here, there's bound to be a few cute ones."

OC leaned toward Riley and told her, "You don't want any of the guys that are walking around here. Trust me on that one," he winked.

Riley then mumbled something to OC that no one else at the table could make out. Again, no one else was a part of the conversation. They heard OC's next comment though.

"Well, just in case you didn't realize it, most girls are just as pretty with makeup as without."

Verchota then began coughing loudly, almost as if he was choking. That quickly brought Riley and OC back to the real world.

"Jeez, Verchota, you okay?" Riley asked.

"Oh, I'll be fine," he said and then coughed again. "A bite of toast seemed to have gone down the wrong way." As he said this everyone except Riley and OC laughed. This was because they all knew the real reason for Verchota's coughing, and it wasn't anything that he swallowed.

* * *

After a short practice that morning, the guys had the remainder of the day off. A bunch of them were going to other sporting events that day, while others were spending their time in the Olympic Village with their families. Rizzo was one spending time with family. He was also spending time with Pam and her family. The night before the two families met and to Rizzo's delight, they got along great.

"Let's go in this shop honey," Pam said, pulling Rizzo into another Olympic themed gift shop.

"Pam dear," her mother began, "I think we've been in enough gift shops. They all have the same things."

"Well I'm looking for something in particular. One of them has to have it."

"What is it?" Rizzo asked.

"Oh, nothing," Pam said. "You'll see when I find it."

Rizzo's dad then told the group that he was going to see if the restaurant across the seat had any tables available for lunch.

"I might just sit in there and have a beer while we're waiting. You can all meet me there when you're finished shopping."

After the rest of the group was in the shop for a minute, Rizzo heard Pam's dad say that he was going to join Rizzo's dad.

"Pam, I'm going to head over with your dad if you don't mind," Rizzo said, wanting to catch him before he left.

"Joining me, Mike?" he asked, seeing Rizzo walk up to his side.

"Uh, yeah," Rizzo began as they exited the shop. "There's actually something I wanted to talk to you about."

* * *

Meanwhile, Silky, Rammer, Mac, and Christian were at the pairs figure skating preliminary competition. Figure skating wasn't their favorite of the sports to watch, but the one plus was who they were watching.

"Tai Babilonia," Rammer said, looking down to the ice at the figure skater that was up next.

The other guys all followed his gaze to look at the figure skater. "What I wouldn't do to be in Randy Gardner shoes," Christian said, speaking of her partner.

"She _is_ pretty fine," Silky commented. "I can totally see why you wanted to come here Christian."

"I'm not the one who wanted the tickets to this," Christian said, trying to defend himself.

"It's okay, Christian," Mac told him. "Watching Tai Babilonia skate is _not_ punishment by any means." Christian's eyes were still glued to the ice where figure skater was warming up.

"You better watch it, Mac," Silky joked. He then elbowed Christian and said, "I think Tai's taken."

"By Broten?" Rammer asked, having not seen Silk elbow Christian. Christian turned and looked at Rammer, almost glaring at him.

"Someone's jealous," Silk said in a sing song tone.

"I am not," Christian said. "Broten's just convinced that he would have a chance with her but I wouldn't."

"Neither one of you would have a chance with her, how's that?" Silky asked. "Now, me… I would definitely have a chance at that," he said with a smile, his eyes glued to the ice. Now it was Christian's turn to elbow Silky.

"No offense, Silky," Mac began, "but you wouldn't have a chance either. Tai Babilonia's like, famous."

"And we're not?" Rammer asked. "If anything, we're more famous. I mean, come on, we're a whole team. She's just one person."

"Technically two people," Christian pointed out. "You have to count her partner."

"Whatever," Rammer said. "Point being, we're definitely more famous."

"Nobody's asked for my autograph yet," Mac pointed out, as if that was a requirement for being famous.

"That's because no one recognized you," Silky said. "Now if Tai was walking down the street, of course people would ask for her autograph, she's recognizable. Christian and Broten would be especially likely to notice her," he added, teasing his friend for his little 'crush' on the skater.

Why hasn't anyone asked for your autograph yet then, Silky?" Rammer joked. "You always say you have the looks on the team, so you'd be recognizable."

"Touché, Rammer," Silky commented.

* * *

Verchota, Mark, OC, Bah, and Jimmy were hanging out in OC's room watching downhill skiing on TV.

"Yeah, so some of the other boys are watching figure skating," Verchota said, making fun of their teammates.

"Hey, figure skating's cool. Those girls are hot," OC commented.

"They're at pairs figure skating," Verchota said, as if that made it uncool.

"As long as it's not men's, there are hot girls," OC said.

A knock at the door interrupted the conversation.

"Can someone get that?" OC asked. "I don't feel like getting up."

"It sounds like it's coming from the adjoining room," Bah said.

"Oh," OC said. Then, "Come on in, Riley."

"Hey guys," Riley said, walking into the room. Most of the guys heard the prank story, so they knew Riley was right next door. Mark and Jimmy hadn't heard the story though, so they were a little confused, but didn't say anything.

"OC, here's that cookie I promised you," Riley said, handing OC a chocolate chip cookie wrapped up in a napkin.

"Where'd you get that?" Verchota asked, sounding upset that he was missing out.

"They're in the lobby. I told OC I'd bring him one."

"How nice of you think of him," Verchota said sarcastically. "Now why didn't you think of all of us?"

"Didn't know you'd be here."

"Want to stay and watch some downhill with us? Pete Patterson is up in a couple minutes," OC said.

"Yeah, and Kristen and Emma are coming over in a little, so you won't be the only girl," Bah added.

"Thanks anyway, but I'm going to do some shopping with Patty and the kids. Catch you guys later?"

"Sure, we'll be here," OC said. "And if they're not, I will be, considering I'm pretty much an invalid and can't leave my room."

* * *

And to hold you over until the weekend, coming up next… "Be Mine: An (Anti)Valentine's Day Massacre"

O

"We can have an amazing life together."

O

"I can't do this. We need to stop pretending it's going to work."

O

"What are you gonna say? 'I love you, but I can't promise it'll last forever?' No girl wants to hear that, Bah."

O

"What was that?"

"I think… it's called a kiss."

"Is that what that was?" Then in a serious tone added, "I thought we were never going down this road again."

O

"We'll make this work. No matter what. That I will promise you."

O

I'd love to hear your comments on the previews as well as the chapter – I know, I gave you one liners for the most part, but I did't want to ruin anything either.


	37. Ch 36: Be Mine: An AntiValentine's

Peachy65: Thanks, the Tai and Randy withdrawal is going to be mentioned. I wasn't sure if they made it through any of the prelim competitions, but for purposes of this story they did. I read this thing about how Christian and Broten really did have huge crushes on Tai. Glad you liked the chapter.

NellieBly413672: Thanks for your review! Glad you thought it was funny. You'll see if you're right about this chapter…

Dahlia687: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked it and that I have you excited for more!

A/N: As promised, here's another chapter. As always, please let me know what you think! After this there are two chapters left.

**Chapter 36: Be Mine: An (Anti)Valentine's Day Massacre**

The next day was Valentine's Day, and more importantly to the team, it was the day they were set to play Czechoslovakia. Herb kept reminding them that this game was a really tough test. Although he didn't rip them apart after the game against Sweden, probably because he already did it between periods, he had quite a lot to criticize them on at practice.

Herb kept saying, "Although you won, you played like it was the end of July," and "If you ever play like that again, you can forget the medal round, you'll be sent home before the prelims are even over."

Even without the comments, the guys knew what they were up against. The Czechs were silver medal favorites, and they hated being reminded of it. It wasn't just Herb either; it seemed to be everyone around them, from reporters on TV to family members.

Although the excessive reminders about Team Czechoslovakia's superior skill irritated the guys, the reminders were also helpful because Team USA almost wanted the win more. The guys came out strong and though they went behind early, Rizzo gave the team the boost they needed. After his goal just two minutes after the Czechs first goal, Pav scored, bringing the score to two to one with only slightly over five minutes of the game gone.

The second period was even better, with the US team scoring four and holding the Czechs to only one more. By the end of the game, the guys were extremely excited and pumped up, along with everyone else and their resounding "We want eight" chants that filled the Olympic Fieldhouse.

After the game, the team was heading into the locker room when Riley caught Jimmy's attention.

"Great game tonight, Jimmy. You really made some tremendous saves." Riley wanted to make sure someone told him how amazing his playing was, especially after Herb threatened to sit him down after the game against the Soviets.

"Thanks Riley," Jimmy said. "You think Herb thinks so? I let in that soft goal in the beginning…"

"It was on a breakaway," Riley reminded him. "I hardly call that a soft goal. But yes, I think Herb thinks you played well. How could he not? You stopped 28 of 31 shots." Jimmy just shrugged in response and continued to the locker room.

"Thanks, Riley," Rizzo told her after Jimmy was out of earshot. "He really needs the bout of confidence from people outside of us. Herb doesn't always help in that department. Coach Patrick always has our backs, but I don't think Jimmy always believes him because Jimmy thinks Coach Patrick says 'good game' no matter what.

"Yeah," Riley agreed. "I just thought Jimmy played outstanding and wanted him to know."

* * *

The guys finished changing and left the locker room more quickly than usual that night because it was Valentine's Day and most had plans. Even the guys that didn't have significant others had plans. Many were having an 'Anti-Valentine's Day' party at a nearby bar. Among that group were Silky and Verchota, both hoping to end the night celebrating Valentine's Day as opposed to their 'anti' celebration.

"You coming, OC?" Rammer asked, who was also going to the bar.

"Nah, I think I'm just gonna stay in tonight."

"Come on. That's no fun," complained Christian.

"Christian's hoping he'll get lucky and Tai Babilonia will show up at the bar," Silky said, saying the figure skater's name like it was from a song.

"Shut up, man," Christian said, a red color appearing on his cheeks.

"Someone's got a crush!" Bah shouted so everyone else that hadn't been listening to Silky and Christian would hear.

"Shut UP, Bah!" Christian said, now even more embarrassed.

"You don't have to be embarrassed," Verchota said. "She's hot."

"Ain't that the truth," Mac agreed.

"I'm still pissed I didn't join you at the skating competition. I would have got to see her in person!" Verchota commented.

"Maybe next time you'll listen," Silky said.

"You're coming to the bar, right Mac?" Christian asked, trying to keep the topic of conversation off himself.

"Yeah, I guess for a little bit. I'm honestly kind of tired. Hanging with OC and relaxing sounds pretty good right about now."

"We could watch some slasher movies," OC suggested. "I think one of those new cable stations is having a marathon."

"Now that's anti-Valentine's Day," Rammer joked. "I might join you guys. I don't really want to go out and drink tonight."

"You just have your heart set on that girl in Buffalo," Mac said, talking about the girl he met just before the team left Minnesota.

"Gosh, Mac. Can you keep your mouth shut about anything?" Rammer asked, exasperated. He really didn't want to talk about Sara right now. Besides, by the time he arrived in Buffalo, she probably wouldn't even remember meeting Rammer, so he wasn't getting his hopes up.

"Everyone already knows," Mac reminded him. "You told them."

"But I told them about it and left it at that. You rehashing this will only provoke someone else to continue," he said, stealing a quick glance at Silky.

"You know me well," Silk replied. "So Bah, are you going out with Kristen tonight?"

"Of course."

"Have you decided whether you're going to ask her to move with you?"

"Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Well, it's tough to know what to do. We haven't been dating all that long. My parents love her, and I love her, but… I don't know. It seems like I should be saying more than 'I love you' to get her to move with me."

"Well, you can't ask her to_ marry_ you," Silky said, treating the 'M' word like it should remain unspoken.

"I know that," Bah said. "I'm not ready for that yet."

"What are you gonna say? 'I love you, but I can't promise it'll last forever?' No girl wants to hear that, Bah," Rammer told him, jumping into the conversation.

"No. I'm just gonna be honest. I'm going to tell her that I love her and I would be so happy if she moved to be with me. I'm going to leave it up to her. Try not to add any pressure."

* * *

After OC got back to his room, he turned on the TV, trying to find something to watch. He was bored sitting by himself, but it was a pain getting places on his crutches, so he decided to skip the bar all together. Hungry, he decided to order room service and looked at the menu. Just as he was trying to decide between a platter of shrimp or crab cakes (after all, he thought he'd splurge since it was Valentine's Day), there was a familiar knock on the adjoining door.

"Come on in," OC called, knowing it was Riley.

"Hey Jack," Riley said upon walking in. "I'm surprised you're even here. I thought I'd try you, but I really expected you to be out with the guys."

"I didn't feel like hobbling along on those things," OC said, pointing to his crutches.

"Well, since we're both dateless and bored on V-Day, want to be dateless together?"

"Sure. You hungry?" asked OC.

"Yeah," Riley responded.

"Mind if I come to your room?" OC asked. "I think some of the guys are coming back to my room later and I don't want to share my food with them."

"Yeah, come on over," Riley said. She waited for OC to come in before closing the door. As OC hobbled over and sat on the bed, Riley locked her part of the adjoining door and then joined him on the opposite side of the bed. She refused to leave her side unlocked for fear that Mac would pull something on her.

"I was thinking either shrimp or crab cakes," OC said.

"Living large," Riley stated with a smile. "How about shrimp?" Then she added, ""With a piece of red velvet cake."

"Mmm," OC commented. "I'll go with that."

As they waited for their food, Riley shared stories about Chicago, and OC shared stories about college life, both getting the other ready for life after the Olympics.

"It'll be sort of nice to have someone nearby that I can call up for college advice," Riley said.

"Yeah. You'll have to show me around Chicago," OC replied.

Once their food came, they turned on TV, though neither was paying much attention because they were still having random conversations. Riley thought it was really weird how easily she could hold a conversation with OC. Before she actually began talking to him, she thought he was a jerk and they had nothing in common.

OC thought the same about Riley. Before he took the time to get to know her, he just thought of her as some nuisance kid that was trying to hang out with the 'big kids' to be cool. He realized that there was a lot more to Riley than meets the eye though.

* * *

A couple hours later, Rizzo and Pam had just finished their Valentine's Day dinner at a nearby restaurant and began their walk back to the hotel. They were staying together in Rizzo's room for the night after Rizzo convinced Pam it wasn't a problem for Broten to stay elsewhere. Rizzo thought he heard that a lot of the guys were crashing in OC and Mac's room, because both were single and neither planned on meeting and taking home any girls that night.

Rizzo was thankful Broten didn't mind crashing elsewhere, because the couple couldn't very well stay in Pam's room, as she was sharing a room with her parents. The couple walked through the quaint Olympic Village hand in hand, enjoying the fresh, cool air. Rizzo suddenly stopped to look in a store window. It was a gift shop, like the majority in the area, but this one was very interesting in its display.

Pam realized he had stopped and turned around to see what he was looking at. "Oh my God, those are hideous," Pam said upon noticing both an American flag print and Olympic emblem wedding dress. "Who would wear one of those?"

At this point, Rizzo bent down and Pam sort of noticed out of the corner of her eye so she turned to face her boyfriend. That was when she noticed him on one knee with a small velvet box in his hand. He opened it, displaying a beautiful diamond ring.

"Oh my gosh!" she gasped, before Rizzo could say anything. "Oh my go-"

"Pam, I love you more than anything and would love nothing more than to wake up saying that every morning, go to bed saying it every night, and saying it many times throughout the day for the rest of my life. Will you marry me so we can have an amazing life together?"

"Yes!" she said, now crying from joy. She threw her arms around Rizzo and wouldn't let go. "Yes, yes, a million times yes!"

After she calmed down a minute, Rizzo was able to put the ring on her finger. Then Pam looked at him with a serious expression. "I don't have to wear one of those hideous dresses, do I?"

"No, that was just an excuse to stop and ask you," Rizzo said, laughing.

"I can't wait to tell my parents!"

"Your dad knows. Don't be too disappointed if your mom also does by this point."

"You asked him?" Pam said, thinking it was sweet to ask her dad's permission.

"Yesterday," Rizzo confirmed.

"Did he give you a hard time?" Pam asked, knowing it would be just like her dad to joke around.

"Not at all," Rizzo admitted. "I was surprised." He knew Pam's dad as well as Pam, and he was prepared for a sarcastic or teasing reaction to asking for Pam's hand in marriage.

"I'm so excited!" Pam said with a huge smile on her face. That would be the first of many times that night she said it, with both Rizzo and Pam beaming every time.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bah and Kristen were spending some time together too. They decided to order room service and hang out in Kristen's room for the night. They planned it so that Emma was going to be in Mark's room, leaving the girl's room empty.

During dinner, Bah decided to test the waters about moving and the future for them in general.

"So, I've been thinking a lot the past couple weeks…" Bah began.

Kristen looked at Bah, patiently waiting for him to continue. She thought she knew what he was going to be discussing with her, but she didn't have a clue which way things were going to go.

"I didn't tell you when I first found out, because I didn't know if anything would even come of it, but I have a tryout with the Buffalo Sabres after the Olympics."

"Really?" Kristen asked, sounding excited for him but concerned at the same time. She tried to only show the excitement for Bah's sake.

"Yeah. I want you to come with me," Bah spit out quickly, before he realized what he was saying. Kristen was trying to process what Bah just said and didn't respond at first. Bah took her silence as a bad sign, and quickly said, "I'm sorry. That's not how I meant it to come out."

"What did you mean to say?" Kristen asked, thankful to be able to buy a little time. It wasn't that she didn't want to move, but she didn't want to agree to anything before thinking it through.

"I meant to say that I love you and I would love for you to join me. I don't know if I'll end up in Buffalo or their Rochester affiliate… maybe neither, I don't know. The bottom line is that I love you, Kristen. I want to be with you."

Kristen nodded but didn't respond, because Bah looked like he had more to say so she thought she'd let him finish.

"Look, I know asking you to pick up and move without anything more than an 'I love you' isn't fair to you. And the more I thought about asking you, the more incredibly selfish I thought I'd sound. I totally understand if you say no," Bah said. Lastly, he added, "The one thing I do know is that we'll make this work. No matter what. That I will promise you."

Kristen stared into her boyfriend's eyes and knew in that moment what she had to do. "We'll make it work no matter what?" she asked. "Even if we're a thousand miles apart?"

Bah's face dropped a little, but he nodded, trying to keep a smile on his face. He didn't want Kristen to think he was upset at her statement, even if he was slightly disappointed. It sounded as if she didn't want to move.

Kristen's face then lit up. "Well, I'm glad to know you have so much confidence in our relationship surviving the distance, Bah, but I need to be with you. I'll support you in whatever you do, and I'll move to Buffalo or Rochester to be with you. Hell, I'd even move to the Moon if it means I get to be with you," Kristen finished.

Bah's face lit up. "Really? You'll move with me?"

"Yes. Yes, I love you so much," Kristen said, pulling Bah into a deep kiss.

* * *

While two happy couples were celebrating Valentine's Day together, Mark and Emma were spending some time together too. Their conversation at dinner consisted of their typical topics. 'Safe' topics – hockey, Emma's grad school class, interesting things they've seen in Lake Placid so far, and it continued. Neither wanted to bring up the important but inevitable subject. Finally, Emma did.

"We have to talk," she began when they were waiting for their check.

"We are talking, aren't we?" Mark half joked. He knew what Emma was referring to though.

"Mark, come on. Avoiding it won't make it go away."

"I know that," Mark said sadly.

"I can't move to Pittsburgh with you," Emma told Mark bluntly.

"I didn't ask you to, Emma," Mark reminded her, almost snapping at her. He hated how she was just jumping to conclusions. Honestly, he wasn't even planning on asking her. In the last few days, he realized that things probably wouldn't last and he decided not to ask her.

"You weren't going to ask?" Emma wondered, sounding surprised and Mark thought she sounded sort of pissed also.

"No. I don't think we're to a point in our relationship where it's fair, or even logical to ask you to move," Mark said honestly. "We would need to wait it out and see if things would work first." In saying this last part, Mark knew he was clearly suggesting a long distance relationship, and although he was making this suggestion, he wasn't sure he was totally for it himself.

"You're suggesting that we try to have a relationship with me in Minnesota and you in Pennsylvania?" Emma asked. "Like that's gonna work," she then mumbled. Mark heard her.

"Did you want to move?" Mark asked. He was confused and couldn't read Emma at all.

"No!" Emma half yelled.

After a half of minute of silence went by, Emma said, "I can't do this. We need to stop pretending it's going to work. Now or ever. It's not going to work."

Mark looked down, trying to avoid Emma's eyes. The truth was that he knew just as well as she did that their relationship would never work out.

When the check came, Mark grabbed it, still intending on paying for their dinner.

"I got my half," Emma said.

"No, don't worry about it. I got it."

Emma didn't want to argue so she sat awkwardly and as they waited for their waitress to collect the check.

"I'm sorry," Emma finally said. "You're a great guy, Mark. You really are. I wish things were different."

"Me too, Emma" Mark said. He was a little disappointed with how things were ending, but it wasn't like he was blindsided by it. From Emma's facial expression, Mark knew she felt the same way. "I'm glad I got to know you, Emma. I hope we can still be friends."

Emma nodded. "I'd like that, Mark."

Emma and Mark walked back to the hotel together. "Do you have a place to stay tonight?"

"Uh, yeah, I'll be fine," Emma said.

"I can stay with the guys if you want my room," Mark suggested.

"No, that's alright."

"No really, stay in my room. We were supposed to be in there tonight anyway." Mark thought of another suggestion, but didn't think it'd go over well. He would have suggested that Emma stayed with Riley, but since Emma still didn't like Riley at all, it wouldn't have been well received.

"Alright," Emma said, knowing she actually didn't have another place to say. "Thanks."

"Uh, I'm gonna go hang out in OC and Mac's room for a bit. I think they're watching some movies or something." Mark said. Then, "You can come if you want," he added as an afterthought, mainly just offering to be nice though. In all honesty, he thought it might be a guy's night. Besides, if there were any girls there, it would only be Riley, and he knew Emma wouldn't want to go anyway.

"No, I think I'll just go watch some of the Olympics." After Mark gave Emma a keycard to his room, they parted ways.

Mark got to the boy's room and only waited a few seconds before Rammer answered the door. Mark was a little surprised that several of the guys were inside. Clearly they all wanted to lay low that night and skip the drinking that was bound to be going on at the Anti-Valentine's Day party Silky was having.

"Hey buddy," Mac said, giving Mark a wave. "What are you doing here?"

"We broke up," Mark said, speaking of himself and Emma.

"Sorry, man," Jimmy said.

"It's okay. I sort of saw it coming."

"Well, take a seat and join us," Mac said.

"So where's OC?" Mark asked, curious. He was one person Mark definitely expected there.

"I don't know. Me and Rammer got here after stopping at the bar and he wasn't here," Mac said.

"Luckily everyone else came," Rammer said about everyone else that was there. "It would have been a lonely party with just the two of us."

* * *

"This is delicious!" OC said once him and Riley were finished with the shrimp and onto the dessert course.

"Yeah. It really hits the spot," Riley agreed.

A minute later, they heard some commotion in the other room.

"The boys must be back," Riley commented.

"Yeah," OC said, sort of absently.

"If you want to hang with them I won't be offended, Jack," Riley told him, thinking OC's response seemed like he wanted to do something with them.

"No, I'm having fun here. Besides, I'd rather be having a pseudo date with another dateless girl than with five or more guys," OC said with a wink.

Riley laughed a little. At this point, Riley and OC were pretty close on the bed because they had been sharing the shrimp platter and cake. When Riley stopped laughing, her eyes met OC's. OC softly grabbed Riley's chin and tilted her lips towards his.

Their lips locked, and after a half of second, their kiss deepened. Another second went by and they both pulled away.

"What was that?" Riley asked, trying to avoid making eye contact with OC.

"I think… it's called a kiss," OC said, smiling.

"Is that what that was?" Riley asked, now looking right at the hockey player. Then in a serious tone she added, "I thought we were never going down this road again."

"_You_ said _you'd_ never go down that road again," OC said. "_I_ never agreed to that."

Riley was shocked at OC's comment and her face turned bright red. _Was that a come on?_ she wondered. She noticed that sometimes OC gave her really weird signals. She knew he was a big flirt, but she never quite knew how to respond to it.

"Relax, Riley," OC said. "I'm joking. I don't know why that just happened."

"I guess it's the whole dateless on Valentine's Day thing. It's starting to have an effect on you," Riley said, making light of the situation.

"On us," OC corrected her. "You kissed back."

"Yeah, I guess I did," Riley said, smiling.

"Want to watch a movie?" OC asked, casually, making their kiss moments before seem like nothing.

"Sure. As long as you're picking," was Riley's response.

OC and Riley began watching a movie, but they were so tired that they both fell asleep on the bed just twenty minutes into it.

* * *

"Who would have thought we'd be the last people here?" Silky wondered out loud, half directing the comment to Verchota.

"Um, everyone thought that," Verchota said, laughing.

At this point, both guys were drinking beers in a half empty bar with no other girls around. Just as they thought they wouldn't have any luck, a girl walked in by herself.

"She looks familiar, doesn't she?" Silky asked Verchota.

"I dunno. Don't think so."

"I know I've seen her before," Silky said to himself.

Mystery girl came up to the empty barstool next to Verchota and sat down, ordering a double scotch on the rocks. Both guys looked at her with raised eyebrows. It wasn't everyday they heard girls order straight up whiskey.

"Rough night?" Silky asked, making conversation.

The girl looked at them. "You two are on the hockey team, aren't you?" was her response.

"Yeah, Phil Verchota," Verchota said, sticking out a hand for the girl to shake.

"Dave Silk," Silky also said.

"Name's Tai," the girl said. Both guy's jaws dropped. They instantly realized they were talking to Tai Babilonia! "Is that how you always react to hearing a girl's name?" she asked coolly.

"No, it's just… I thought you looked familiar, but I had no idea…" Silky began, trailing off.

"Yeah, you're an incredible skater," Verchota said. "Just amazing!"

"Thanks," Tai said, sounding almost resentful or bitter about the compliment.

"So why are you in here on Valentine's Day, drinking alone?" Silky asked.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I'm alone anymore," Tai said, not trying to be nasty or unkind, but just stating a fact.

"Nope, you have our wonderful company," Silky said, winking at the figure skater.

"No offense, but I'm not really in the mood for company," she said as she swirled the stirrer in her glass.

Silky stole a glance at Verchota, wondering what they should do. He thought Tai seemed upset about something, but at the same time she was so cool and collected it was tough to tell.

"Want to get something off your mind?" Silky asked. "I promise we're good listeners and your secrets will be safe with us."

Tai sighed. "Well, it's nothing that won't get out to the media by tomorrow morning anyway." She paused before saying, "Randy and I withdrew from competition."

"What?" asked Verchota.

"Why?" asked Silky at the same time.

"He fell. Tonight, during our warm-up. It was the second prelim round and we couldn't compete. I just found out his injury's so bad he's done for the rest of the Olympics. His skating career in general might be over."

"I'm sorry," Silky finally managed to get out. He didn't know what else to say. Verchota's response was similar.

"It just really sucks because we had a good chance at medaling."

After the three spent the next hour and a half talking, Tai seemed to be in better spirits, though it could have been the alcohol's doing, and she announced she had to get going. "Promise that you'll win a medal for me?"

"Sure thing, beautiful," Silky said, winking.

"Nice try, but I'm not that drunk," Tai told Silky as she turned away. Verchota laughed at Silky's rejection with even directly asking her anything.

She stopped before exiting and said, "Did you guys hear what people are calling your game?" she asked.

Both guys shook their heads no.

"The Valentine's Day Massacre," she said, then exited the bar.

"The Valentine's Day Massacre," Silky repeated. "I like it."

"Yeah, such a nice ring to that," Verchota agreed. Then he said, "Christian and Broten are never gonna believe this." He was referring to meeting their crush in person.

"No they won't," Silky agreed.

* * *

Riley woke up a couple hours after she fell asleep to a dark room aside from the glow of the fuzzy TV screen. She also noticed a big body next to her in bed. Instantly, she remembered starting a movie with OC. She knew it was sort of awkward for him to stay, but he looked so peaceful sleeping that she couldn't bear to wake him. It wasn't as if anything was happening anyway. _They were just sleeping, so what was the big deal if he stayed? _she thought. _He'll need a good story to tell the guys tomorrow though. There's no way they'll buy a story that we spent the night together with nothing happening. _Riley's thoughts then went to the kiss, as she was reminded that something in fact did happen. _But that doesn't really count. It was just a kiss, nothing more._

Riley turned the TV off and slid underneath the covers. She pulled covers over OC too, being careful not to wake him or hit his knee. Riley then rolled over so her back was facing OC and she drifted off to sleep.

It was the end of a perfectly good Valentine's Day.


	38. Chapter 37: How Far We've Come

Kitty447: I'm so glad you like the story, thanks for reviewing! I don't want to give anything away, but I think you'll be happy with the way things work out.

Peachy65: Thanks for reviewing. Glad you liked the chapter and Rizzo's proposal. Enjoy the chapter!

NellieBly413672: Glad you liked the chapter and all of the couple's Valentine's Days. Hope you like this chapter and thanks or the review!

A/N: Sorry this chapter was so delayed. I had a lot going on in the past few weeks between family stuff and finishing up school. Needless to say, this chapter isn't very long… but some good news is that because of that, you'll be getting an extra chapter. So after this, expect at least two more chapters, one of which will definitely be up this weekend sometime. Enjoy and please review!

**Chapter 37: How Far We've Come**

The day after Valentine's Day was uneventful as far as hockey went because although the team practiced, they had a day off before their next game. The lack of game day excitement didn't mean there was a lull in the locker room though. Even before breakfast the rumor mill was churning.

"I'll bet someone a hundred bucks that OC and Riley come down here together, looking like they had a night of hot sex," Silky commented with his mouth full of scrambled eggs.

"A night of hot sex?" Verchota asked, "More like a night followed by a cock-a-doodle-doo."

Pav laughed. "Where the fuck do you come up with that shit?" he asked, still laughing.

"You've never heard of a cock-a-doodle-doo?"

"No, I just call it morning sex," Pav replied with a shrug.

"I don't think OC's with Riley," Mac spoke up.

"Then you'll be okay betting me the hundred dollars," Silk stated assertively.

"Uh, no," Mac said. "I'm not putting a hundred dollars at stake. "I just meant I don't think they're in Riley's room because I didn't hear them or anything last night or this morning."

"Maybe they had mime sex," Verchota casually suggested.

"Wow," Pav said, laughing at yet another one of Verchota's slang terms.

"It doesn't mean much that you didn't hear them," Silk said. "Maybe they were together elsewhere. I mean, OC's never late for breakfast. He's usually the first one down here." A minute or so of silence followed with no one having anything else to say about OC and Riley.

"So word on the street is Mark and Emma are over," Buzz said, starting up another conversation. "Is that true?"

"Yeah," Bah said. "They ended things last night."

"That's too bad. They were cute together."

"Emma doesn't seem too upset about it," Bah said. "She stopped by this morning to tell me and Kristen so we would hear it from her before we heard through the grapevine. I don't know why she cared who we heard it from, but whatever."

"And how was your night Bah?" Rammer asked. "Any concrete plans for after the Olympics?"

"Kristen's coming to Buffalo with me. Well, I should say she's going to follow me where ever I end up. I don't think she'll be able to actually move until this summer though. And I don't know for sure I'll even end up in Buffalo."

At this point, Christian and Jimmy walked over to the table, joining the guys. Before sitting down, they both walked up to Rizzo's chair.

"Congratulations, man," Jimmy said, hitting his friend on the back. "I heard the good news."

"Yeah congrats," Christian jumped in. "I didn't even know you planned on proposing."

Rizzo shrugged. I didn't want to tell everyone in case she said no," Rizzo explained.

"Come on, Riz," Mac said. "Pam would have been crazy to say no."

"How did everyone find out so fast?" Rizzo asked.

"Are you kidding?" asked Rammer. "We could make our own version of the 'National Enquirer' with all the gossip that goes around here."

Most of the guys just laughed. They knew at times they were just as bad as girls when it came to gossiping, especially when it had to do with the women in their lives.

* * *

Meanwhile, OC and Riley were together as many of the guys suspected, but they weren't in Riley's room like the guys all thought. The two woke up at six, and regardless of it still being dark out and knowing they could have slept for another three hours before the rest of the team headed down to breakfast, they were hungry and wanted to eat then. They decided to take a walk and eat somewhere in the Olympic Village. By seven they sat down at a café and had their breakfast, and it was going on nine before either realized how long they had been sitting there. The only evidence of the time passing was the daylight shining through the windows.

"Wow, I didn't realize how late it was getting," OC said. "We actually better get going soon. I have to be back for our morning practice."

"What time do you guys have the ice today?" Riley asked. She couldn't remember because the time seemed to change every day.

OC chuckled. "Shouldn't you know what time practice is, considering you work for the team and all?"

"That's what I have you guys for," Riley answered with a smirk.

"We have the ice from ten to eleven today."

"Short one," Riley commented.

"Thank God," OC said. "I hate the weight room here." OC mentioned the weight room because that how he spent most of practice. While the guys were doing on ice drills, OC was supposed to be keeping up on his conditioning anyway he could, which meant lifting. He couldn't use the stationary bike or walk on the treadmill yet.

"At least you get to take baths," Riley said. Riley was referring to the hot water baths OC used. He was able to move his knee in there, and the water resistance helped keep his leg strength.

OC made a face at Riley's comment. "Want to take my place? Those things are gross."

"They're not that bad."

"You've never been in one," OC stated. "I don't even want to think about who or what else had been in there. There's probably mold and fungus all over. And who knows what diseases can be picked up…"

"Yeah, ya know, I did hear this news story about a baseball player that contracted AIDS from one of those things. I guess you just never know," Riley said and shrugged.

She watched a horrified expression come over OC's face. She started laughing, not being able to contain herself anymore.

"Relax, Jack. I'm kidding."

OC glared at Riley. She continued laughing. "That's not a funny joke."

"You should have seen the look on your face," Riley said. Then she said, "They _do_ clean them Jack."

"Yeah, but who knows how well they clean them. I saw janitor 'clean' a bathroom once. He looked inside to make sure there was enough toilet paper, and walked out, not touching a thing."

"Maybe it was clean enough."

"There was vomit all over the floor."

"Ewww," Riley said, crinkling her face.

"Welcome to dorm life."

"At least bathrooms aren't co-ed."

"Girls bathrooms are way worse," OC said seriously. "You have to deal with vomit and those bloody napkin things."

"Tampons?" Riley asked, laughing. "Do you have firsthand knowledge of what a girl's bathroom looks like?"

"I've never been inside if that's what you're asking. I've heard lots of stories though. Some scary shit goes on in there. At BU, a girl two floors above me gave birth in the bathroom."

"Yeah right," Riley said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm serious!" OC said.

"Want a roommate?" Riley asked, half joking. "I don't have to dorm."

"I'll pass," OC said. "I can't live with girls."

"Have firsthand experience with that too?"

"Well, I lived with my sister."

"That doesn't count," Riley told him. "What are you going to do when you get married? Live in separate houses?"

"That's different."

"What if I offered to pay you the same amount as I would be if I was dorming?" Riley asked. She wasn't serious, but just wanted to give OC a hard time.

"If you threw in an offer to cook and clean, I might take you up on it."

"A live in, unpaid maid service…" Riley said, pretending to think about it. "I think that beats witnessing birth." They both laughed.

"Well, thanks for breakfast Riley."

"It's the least I could do. You wouldn't let me pay for the food last night."

"Well, pseudo-date or not, the guy always buys Valentine's Day dinner." OC and Riley then left the café, needing to make it back for practice.

* * *

After breakfast at the hotel, Christian caught Silky on his way upstairs. "Hey Silk, you can quit spreading rumors that you and Phil ran into Tai last night…if you really wanted me to admit I have a crush on her I will."

"Would you?" Silky asked for his own amusement.

Christian rolled his eyes but responded, "Yes, I have a crush on Tai."

"Thanks for clearing that up, buddy," Silk said, giving his friend a slap on the back. "It's not like anyone could tell," he added sarcastically. "But we really did see her. I can prove it."

"How?" Christian asked, still not believing Silk.

"Turn on the news. Tai told us that Randy fell in warm-ups last night and they had to withdraw from competition."

"You're lying."

"Am not."

"I'm gonna go turn on the news to prove it's not true."

"Whatever Christian. But remember, when you hear the truth, you heard it here first."

Ten minutes after the two parted ways, Christian was pounding on Silky's door. When Silky answered it, he wasn't at all surprised to see both Christian and Broten standing outside.

"We want the deets," Christian said, pushing his way in the hotel room.

"Tell us everything," Broten said, following them inside. Silky laughed before telling the boys the story of the previous night.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Silky, Rammer, and Mac were walking around the Olympic Village. OC reluctantly agreed to join them. He really hoped Doc would nix the crutches soon because he couldn't stand them anymore.

"Who wants to people watch for awhile?" Silky asked.

"I think that may be code for girl watch," Mac noted. "Either way, I'm down for it."

"I actually want to have some hot chocolate and I can't drink and walk at the same time," he responded with the classic Silky smirk.

"That's funny," OC said. "Because I could have sworn you've already fought people, me included, for the keys to your car when you were clearly too drunk to drive."

"So you can drink alcohol and drive but you can't drink hot chocolate and walk?" Rammer tried clarifying.

"No," OC said. "The point is he can't do either but he always likes to think he can."

"I'll go get the hot chocolate if you guys can find a bench somewhere," Silky offered.

"Want help?" Rammer asked.

"Nah, I got it."

"You just see a girl you want all to yourself, don't you?" asked Mac. Silky just laughed. The guys all knew him so well. As a matter of fact though, this time he didn't see anyone, he was just hoping to run into a cute girl.

While Silky was in line for the hot chocolate, he heard, "Hey Silky," from behind his back. He turned around to see Gayle standing there. She explained she was getting hot chocolate for her and Buzz. Buzz was getting sandwiches from another stand.

As they were waiting for the time to pass they mainly talked hockey and the upcoming games. Silky explained how the most frustrating thing to the team at that point was always getting behind early. They spoke as a team before the game to work on coming out strong, but they still ended up giving up goals early.

"Well, maybe you should try what I told you," Gayle suggested.

"What was that?" asked Silky, not able to remember what she had said.

"It was a while ago," Gayle said. "You boys were all making fun of us girls for complimenting each other and I told you that you should try it. Well, you should try it," Gayle said with a smile.

"Compliment each other," Silky stated, almost as if compliments were a foreign concept.

"Try it," Gayle urged. "It might help." Silky told her he'd consider her advice and took his turn to order the drinks. He bought Buzz and Gayle's too with the thought that he was going to find a girl to buy hot chocolate for, so why not spend the extra dollar on a friend anyway?

* * *

The following day the team was playing Norway, and as in every other game prior, they gave up a goal early on. Going into the locker room between periods, Silky knew the guys needed a huge morale boost. Everyone was so frustrated because they just couldn't find the net. Rizzo began doing his typical Captain's thing – he tried to get the guys pumped up by making some motivating comments. Silky thought Rizzo was a great captain, but he had another idea.

"Guys, we can do this. I have so much confidence in each and every one of you, and there's no reason we can't each get out there and score a goal. Now I have confidence in all of you, but the question is, do you have that same faith in each other?" Silky paused for a few seconds so his teammates could think this over. "We all need to support each other and get this done. I think we should start by saying nothing but nice things to each other. Don't just give compliments based on how we play on the ice – it starts here, in the locker room. It starts now!"

After a brief period of silence, Phil spoke up. He turned to Eric Strobel sitting next to him and said, "Eric, your hair looks marvelous." A few of the guys chuckled, but they all knew Silk was onto something.

"Phil, that's a wonderful job of taping your shin pads," Bah told him.

"Jimmy, your eyes are a lovely shade of blue," Steve Janaszak announced. Some more laughter among the guys, but the compliments picked up.

After spending the better part of their break trying to pick each other up, they were ready to go back on the ice for period two.

Just forty-one seconds in, the show began with Rizzo scoring a power-play goal. Johnson scored next, four minutes later, followed by Silk. Two more were added by Wells and Morrow in the third period to make the final score five to one.

The crowd was wild their excitement built with each goal, just like it had against the Czechs. If Herb was happy about their play, he didn't show it, but Craig and Doc seemed happy. The guys were excited about their big win too, but they tried not to get too excited over wins, because with each win they knew their game against the Soviets was approaching.

Technically, they didn't even have a guarantee to play the Soviets, being that the teams were in different divisions, but if neither team lost, they would meet eventually in the medal round.

After two more preliminary games, the US team went undefeated, posting a seven-two win over Romania and a four-two win over West Germany. The medal round was upon them, and from their position in second and the Soviets in first, they knew they would be playing the red army first in the medal round.

* * *

The morning of the big game, OC and Mac woke up to sun shining brightly through their hotel window.

"Looks like a nice day," Mac commented.

"Nicer than when we got to New York, that's for sure," OC added.

"Maybe it'll bring us good luck," Mac said.

"Well, the weather was forewarning last time," OC said, remembering how gloomy the sky was a few weeks prior.

"I'm nervous," Mac admitted.

"Me too," OC agreed.

The roommates went down to breakfast minutes later, going through their usual ritual of pulling tables together so the whole team could sit together. Within twenty minutes their table was full, all twenty hockey players eating breakfast in almost absolute silence.

It wasn't that they were all too busy eating to talk; having food in their mouths never stopped them before. They were all too nervous to talk, and besides, no one really knew what to say anyway.

Finally Phil broke the silence. "Who's ready?" he asked, trying to sound pumped. Silence followed at most of the team just looked at Phil with deadpanned stares. "Okay, who's nervous as hell?"

More than twenty hands went up, including both of Phil's.

"Good, now that that's all cleared up, who wants to start talking?" Phil didn't mean start talking about the impending game, but just talk in general. All he got was hockey talk though.

"The Soviets completely killed everyone in their division," Rammer stated.

"The Canada game was close," Buzz said. "Canada was even winning at one point."

"Finland was beating them at one point too," Bah piped up.

"Soviets beat Poland eight to one," Broten mentioned.

"Yeah, and Poland sucks. We would have beaten them by a lot too," Pav jumped in.

"Yeah," OC commented. "You guys saw the results of the games against Japan and the Netherlands though right? Combined, it was thirty-three to four."

"I wonder how many hat tricks were scored?" Pav wondered.

"Three," Mark Johnson spoke up. "One in the first, two in the second game. But at least nine different players scored twice, so they were close to even more hat tricks."

"Want to know what they don't tell you in the stats?" OC asked, trying to joke around. "That three hats were thrown on the ice for the three hat tricks combined."

This comment got several of the guys laughing.

"I've heard almost everyone is cheering for any team but them," Mac said. "Even Romanians aren't cheering for them."

"Well, no wonder. The USSR occupied Romania for several years. I wouldn't like them either."

After some more talk about how tough the Soviet team was, Rizzo glanced at Silk, both of whom had been quiet, Silky unusually so. Rizzo wanted Silky to speak up and say something powerful like he had the other night during the Norway game. Rizzo sometimes thought the guys got tired of hearing his "Captain speeches."

"Guys, how about we focus on our own game?" Silk said. "Bring each other up. We don't need to put ourselves down, there's no reason to." Silky then looked at Rizzo, who gave him a nod of thanks.

Rizzo then spoke up himself. "Exactly there's no reason to at all. Remember when we started playing together back in June? Half of us didn't even get along. Some of us hated each other."

OC and Mac looked at each other. They knew Rizzo was talking about them.

"And now we're all friends," Rizzo continued.

"I wouldn't go that far," OC said.

"Yeah, that's pushing it," Mac agreed, smiling at OC.

"Well, either way, we're a team – a family," Rizzo said and looked at Mark. "Did any of you even think we'd be here, together, even months ago. Personally, I didn't know if I would be here. Everything we've done has got us this far, we need to keep that going for tonight. We've come so far, now let's finish this, our way!"

A bunch of the guys clapped for Rizzo's speech. Phil piped up, "Should we make a toast or something?" Laughter and more clapping were heard filling the breakfast room. Now they all knew and really believed they had a fighting chance to do this tonight. It wouldn't be easy, but they all had confidence in themselves and each other.


	39. Chapter 38: We are the Champions

Kitty447: Glad you're liking the story and how I portray the boys. Out of all of my stories, I think I do the best job portraying them in this one (probably due to lots of practice), so I really appreciate the compliment. Thanks for reviewing!

dahlia687: Glad you liked the chapter and how everything is playing out! Thanks for the review and I hope you like the chapter.

NellieBly413672: Thanks for the review – I'm glad you liked it. I forgot to put the chapter title that the compliment part happened in, but I'm glad you picked up on it. (It was Andromeda by the way.)

A/N: Thanks again to everyone for the reviews – keep them coming! Sadly, I only have one chapter left after this. It's going to be a post Olympics epilogue. It should be up sometime next week. With the epilogue, I might include a snippet of my new story which is going to be called "Outta This League". I'm excited to start writing it, but I know I won't actually start posting for a few months – probably late this summer. (I'm hoping for the end of August.) Anyway, enjoy this chapter and please review!

**Chapter 38: We are the Champions**

As the guys were getting ready for the big game against the Soviets - taping their pads, lacing up their skating, and mentally preparing - OC was patiently waiting to hear news on his status. He didn't want to get his hopes up, but he was really hoping to dress for this game.

OC could barely believe when Craig told him it was a go. After Doc finished up checking out OC's knee, and while the hockey player was still lost in thoughts of excitement Riley walked in the room he was sitting in.

"I hear you have some good news?" Riley half asked, a big smile on her face. Herb didn't tell her whether OC was playing or not, but she assumed that was the "good news".

"I'm playing Ri!" OC said, now jumping up and hugging her, lifting her slightly in the air.

"I'm so happy for you Jack," Riley said, just as OC set her on the ground again.

"I gotta go tell the guys and get dressed!"

Riley laughed as OC happily hopped out of the room. He looked like a kid on Christmas that just got the top present on his list. She then heard him shouting "I'm playing, I'm playing" to everyone.

"He's excited, huh?" Herb asked, walking up to Riley.

"I'll say."

"You're on the bench with us tonight, Riley."

"Thanks Uncle Herb!" Riley said happily. The day before, Herb told her he would try to get her a pass to sit on the bench but he wasn't sure if she would be able to. The last game she had to sit in the box with Walter and the other people she didn't know from the USOC. The box was nice, but at the same time, she hated it. It was so much better being on the bench with the guys.

Heading out to the ice was surreal for the team and the coaching staff. Herb was the only one that wasn't visibly fazed by the atmosphere. The guys were looking around the Olympics Fieldhouse taking everything in. There were so many people, and it was louder tonight than it had ever been before. American flags waving in the hands of people dressed in red, white, and blue were seen everywhere.

"How are we even going to be able to hear each other on the ice?" Mac wondered.

"It'll quiet down once the game starts," Silky assured him as they were skating around before the teams lined up for the anthems.

Lining up for the anthems, the guys were sizing up the Soviet team. Even though they played them a couple weeks before, it was different today. Everything about today was different.

"I've never been this nervous in my entire life," Riley whispered to Rizzo, who was standing nearby.

"You're nervous? I'm the one that's playing!" Rizzo reminded her. He was trying to joke around, but it just made him seem even more nervous than he was.

"You got this Rizzo," Riley said patting Rizzo on the back as he sat down.

The first half of the period started off well. After a couple minutes of burning off nervous energy, the guys were keeping up with the Soviets, playing strong defensively and getting some good chances in the offensive zone. That turned around just over nine minutes in though. The Soviets scored on a turnover to take the lead.

This didn't stop the US team from pushing on harder though. The Conehead line went on the ice and five minutes after Krutov scored, Buzz scored on a pass from Pav. The energy in the building was electric as the guys celebrated their first goal of the night.

The crowd's energy kept up, but the team's energy was decreased slightly when Makarov scored three minutes later. There were still a little over two minutes left in the third period, but as the second dwindled down, the guys were all fairly happy with their accomplishment. Being one goal down going into the second period was nothing. They had a great chance if they could keep on playing the way they had been so far.

Christian picked the puck up at the red line with four seconds to go in the first period and took a shot. Everyone thought it would end there – but it didn't. Tretiak gave up a big rebound and Mark came out of nowhere and shot the puck again. It went in.

The crowd went wild as the score on the jumbotron read two to two and the first period had no time remaining. Not only was the crowd excited, but the guys on the bench were excited as well. They thought only being down by a goal at the end of the first was an accomplishment, but being tie was incredible!

Between periods, Herb tried to keep the team excited, but also tried to keep them from getting ahead of themselves. A lot could happen in forty minutes of hockey.

"I want the D to remain tight. Don't give up those turnovers either," Herb said, the guys all listening intently, but Riley sort of drowning everything out. She had no idea what her uncle meant by anything he said. She just hoped the guys knew, and from looking around, they all did.

"When we get the puck, we get it in their zone – we're not dumping it in for them to take it away, because they will take it away if we dump it in," Herb continued.

"We're playing well all around so far, so keep skating with them, keep attacking them. Magic, way to keep looking for the net all the way to the end. That's what I wanna see," Herb said, complimenting the hockey player on his goal. They all knew Herb rarely gave compliments so they really liked to take them in whether they were direct compliments or not.

A few minutes later, Herb was done talking and let the guys be alone for the next few minutes before going back out to the ice for period two.

In game time, their tie was short lived. Maltsev scored on the power play for the go ahead goal, but it hardly dampened the decibel level in the building. Even at the end of the period, although no more goals had been scored, the crowd was crazy.

After Herb spoke to the guys in between periods, Riley spoke up this time before any of the guys on the team could.

"I just want you all to know that I'm so proud of how you're all playing. You're playing with so much heart, and if you keep it up, you'll find a way to win. It only takes a second to score a goal, as Mark proved earlier," she said shooting Mark a smile before continuing, "and you have twenty minutes worth of seconds left. Everyone out there believes in you. They've barely stopped screaming and cheering the whole game. I believe in you too. Now let's get out there and take it to 'em!"

A couple guys clapped once or twice while they picked up their gloves and sticks, ready as ever for the third period to begin.

"Have you ever been more nervous as a game went on?" Mac rhetorically asked Silk on the way out to the ice.

"Not before today," Silk responded. "But everything's different about this game."

"OC," Rizzo called at they were heading out of the locker room. "Doing okay out there? I mean, you look good, but I wanted to make sure you're feeling okay too."

"Yeah, I'm doing great. Just glad to have the chance to be back out there," OC said, restraining himself from making a comment about Rizzo going all "motherly" on him again. He'd been best friends with Rizzo long enough to know that the guy couldn't help it. It was in his nature to take care of and check up on people.

Rammer then tapped Rizzo's leg with his stick. "Hey buddy, nice job out there tonight. You're working hard. Last time your shift was on the ice, I noticed something you might be able to try."

"What's that?" Rizzo asked, eager for some advice. Sometimes a defenseman or someone on the bench would see an opportunity the guys with the puck didn't always see.

Rammer went on to explain to Rizzo that he should aim low on Tretiak, much like he did when he scored against them in Madison Square Gardens. Rammer seemed to think that Tretiak was likely to give up a goal like that again, especially if it was a screen shot. He also told Rizzo to sneak in the center area on the ice to get an open pass. Rammer thought it would create the perfect opportunity for a shot using the Soviet defense as a screen.

With about seventeen minutes left in the third period, the Soviet team was still ahead but the US team went on the power play. They all knew getting a goal here was vital to the rest of their game, and although Herb knew this too, he tried to take the pressure off of the guys by calling a timeout.

The guys could barely hear Herb with everyone chanting "USA" but by now they were getting slightly used to it as it had been going on the whole game.

The time in the power play was dwindling down with nothing happening. Unfortunately the guys didn't even get that many shots off during this opportunity. Then, with four seconds left, Johnson picked up a loose puck after Silky was checked and took a shot. The puck went right over the goaltender's right shoulder and the building erupted in cheers as the goal light went on. Once again, they were tied with the Soviets.

"Woooohooo!" guys on the benched screamed.

"Yeah Magic!" others shouted.

Even Herb was smiling about the goal.

"Let's keep this going now boys," Rizzo said, once everyone was slightly settled down again, tapping his stick against the boards.

A few minutes went by and Herb called for Rizzo to replace Buzzy on the ice. The guys were in the Soviet end now, passing the puck around as Rizzo skated hard towards the center.

Rizzo called to Pav, just after Pav got the puck from Bah, letting his teammate know he was open.

"Rizzo, Rizzo," Pav called back, ready to pass it. Rizzo got the puck and skated to the net, one player between him and the goalie. He pulled back and shot, time seeming to pass in slow motion as the puck moved toward the net. The puck went low and passed the goalie.

Rizzo's arms went in the air as he realized he scored. The rest of the team and coaching staff also threw their hands in the air, as well as the crowd. The team was jumping up and down as Rizzo half ran and half skated along the boards, his teammates on the ice piling on him in celebration. Quickly the rest of the team joined them as well.

Thirty seconds later, which almost seemed more like minutes later, everyone was still excited. The team was still on the ice celebrating the big goal, the fans were waving their American flags wildly, and Riley managed to restrain herself from going onto the ice with the guys. She had to do something though, so she hugged her Uncle, who, she was surprised to find, hugged her back.

As the celebration died down and the guys that were supposed to be on the bench sat down once again, the final ten minutes was ready to get underway.

"Awesome goal, Rizzo!" Riley said, giving the goal scorer a hug from behind.

Instead of just thanking her, Rizzo practically threw his arms around her in return. "We're ahead, Riley. We're really ahead!"

Rizzo hated getting ahead of himself and tried not to get too confident because he knew nothing was certain until it was over, but this was the first time they were ahead of the Soviets and it was so exciting.

"I can't believe there's still nine minutes left," Riley said a minute later, to no one in particular. "I thought at least five minutes had gone by since Rizzo scored."

"I know," Silky responded, who was currently on the bench in front of where she was standing. "I wish this was over already."

A shot was taken by the Soviet team. A big rebound bounced off Jimmy's pad and another player took a shot.

"I can't watch," Riley groaned and turned away.

"Come on, Jimmy!" Phil yelled.

"Tell me when it's over," Riley said, again to no one in particular.

A few seconds later there was a line change, including a change in defensemen.

"The ice is over here, Ri," OC said, hitting the teen's shoulder. She didn't respond and barely looked up. "Nervous much? And to think, you're not even playing."

"Yeah, good thing. I'd have a heart attack."

"I think I'm having one from right here on the bench," Janny announced, having heard OC and Riley.

The clock went down to five minutes remaining. "Oh my God, oh my God," Riley said, jumping up and down in place.

"You're not helping there Riley," Bah told her, half kidding, but half serious.

"I'm sorry. I just can't help it. I'm too nervous."

By the time there were three minutes left, the guys were just as antsy as Riley. Their knees were bouncing, their sticks tapping, their eyes darting from the ice to the clock.

Seconds were going by like time in eternity. It was never ending. Finally, a minute was left.

"I can't believe they didn't pull Mishkin yet," Rammer commented. Craig thought the same thing.

Herb's reply was, "He doesn't know what to do."

Thirty seconds left.

Now, everyone was standing – and that was on the US bench. The crowd had been standing since Rizzo's go ahead goal. With each passing second, the crowd's cheers became more deafening. It was a good thing the game was almost over, because it was getting to the point that no one would be able to hear the call's for line changes.

Twenty.

"Oh my gosh, twenty!" Riley said to herself. She wasn't that quiet, but it was too loud for anyone to have heard her.

"Whooooo!" Phil yelled, not knowing what else to do.

Rizzo's eyes were glued to the clock, along with almost everyone else's. It was almost as if the clock was more interesting than the game.

Ten.

"Please, please, please," Riley now chanted.

"We might do this. This is actually happening!" Christian yelled, jumping up and down.

Five.

"Oh my God." If someone wasn't saying it out loud, they were definitely thinking it.

The time reached three seconds and everyone could hear, though barely hear over their won screams, the call "Do you believe in Miracles – YES!"

The team rushed the ice. There was mayhem with everyone on the team hugging, jumping, and almost tackling each other. The crowd was screaming and strangers were hugging in the stands. Not wanting to miss the excitement, Riley quickly hugged her uncle and Doc, and then left the bench for the ice too.

Silky was the first person she got to, and he grabbed her in a bug hug immediately. It was amazing for Riley to remember back to when they first met. _With everything that happened, who would've thought we'd be hugging like good friends now?_

Ironically for Riley, Mac and Phil then skated over, tackling Silky with a giant hug. "We won!" Mac shouted. Riley hung back a little, because although she wanted to be a part of the celebration, she didn't want to get hurt. They guys had their pads on, and considering most of them had at least seventy to eighty pounds on her even without their equipment, they could easily crush her with it.

Out of the corner of Riley's eye, she noticed Jimmy, who was now celebrating with his teammates after finding his father in the stands. She went over to him next.

"Nice job," Riley said with a big smile on her face. "You were like a brick wall out here tonight!"

"Thanks Riley," Jimmy said.

Riley bit her lip, wondering whether she should say what she was thinking or not. She didn't want to ruin his amazing post win mood, but decided to say it anyway.

"Your mom would have been so proud of you tonight."

Jimmy looked into Riley's eyes, seeing how genuine and sincere she was being and after holding her gaze for a second, replied, "Yeah, I really played this one tonight for her."

Riley threw her arms around the goalie, squeezing him in a tight hug.

"I wish she could've seen this," Riley said, after pulling away.

"Oh, she did," Jimmy winked. "She's always watching over me."

Riley looked at Jimmy and knew there was a double meaning to his statement. He silently told her that her dad was doing the same – always watching over Riley. Riley smiled.

"I bet your mom, my dad, and everyone else upstairs are having a huge party to celebrate right now!" the teen told him. It was her way of saying thank you to all Jimmy for reminding her of her dad. As much as it hurt to lose him, and as much as it used to hurt to think about him, Riley could now think of him and how many happy times they had, thanks in a large part to Jimmy and everything he'd done for her over the past several months.

"I think that means we should celebrate too!" Jimmy said.

"You got that right," Riley replied as they both joined in on the celebration again.

"Riley!" a voice Riley instantly recognized as OC's called.

She turned around. "Jack – you did it!" Riley half ran on the ice to give OC a hug.

Instead of just hugging her, because OC was almost a foot taller than her, and even more than that with skates on, he picked her up and spun her around. Riley then felt something cold and wet on her neck. She looked down, realizing OC's sweat drenched hair was on her neck, not his lips which Riley thought it had been for a split second.

_What has gotten into me? _she thought. _He did __not__ kiss me! I don't know why I think things like this, _she now thought, silently scolding herself.

What Riley didn't know though, was that those had been OC lips. He didn't mean to kiss her. Well, he meant to give her a platonic peck on the cheek. But Riley's head was above his now, and it ended up being her neck near his face and not her cheek. As soon as OC realized this, he turned so his face was nowhere near Riley's neck anymore. Aside from not wanting to kiss her neck, OC also moved his head because couldn't hold himself together with her smell practically intoxicating him. He never noticed Riley's perfume or shampoo – whatever it was that smelled so good - before now. _It's probably because I smell like sweat and any scent is better than that,_ he thought.

"I can't believe we won," OC said, setting Riley back on the ice.

"Woohooo!" Bah said, skating up to them.

Congratulatory hugs and cheers continued for the next few minutes and would have continued longer if the guys weren't forced off the ice.

"Boys, we need to get off the ice now!" Craig Patrick told them. "I know you all want to celebrate, but they need to clean it before the Sweden-Finland game and you're holding them up."

Reluctantly, the team left the ice and made their way to the locker room where many reporters, family, and friends were waiting. Since they spent so much time on the ice, it gave everyone plenty of time to make it down to the locker room area.

* * *

Finally, what seemed like hours after the team actually won, most were leaving the arena. Most were getting something to eat with their family first, but everyone was going out to celebrate some more afterword. They were technically still on curfew, because they had another game, but the word from Craig was that Herb would be "somewhat lenient" that night. No one knew exactly what that meant, but they figured it meant they could stay out a little later than they were normally supposed to.

Riley ended up going out with her uncle, aunt, and cousins for a bite to eat before heading out with the guys. Kelly and Danny couldn't stop talking about the game and how jealous they were that Riley was so close to the action.

"I was so nervous I could barely watch!" Riley said.

"I felt like closing my eyes at times too, Riley," her uncle said. She could tell Herb was half kidding, but he was also a little serious.

When Riley finally got to the bar everyone was meeting at, she was surprised to find that only a few people had arrived. It wasn't a surprise that Silky and Phil were already. Bah, and Kristen were also there, as was Emma. The most surprising person she saw there was Mark. She heard that Mark and Emma broke up, so it was sort of weird that they were sitting next to each other.

"Riley, come over and have a seat!" Kristen called happily, having seen Riley walk in the door. She walked over trying to decide where to sit. The only seat empty was one on Emma's right, so unless Riley pulled up a chair, she'd be sitting next to her favorite person. Since Emma's back was to Riley now, the red head couldn't even tell what Emma's expression was. _She's probably rolling her eyes that Kristen invited me over, _Riley thought. _Oh well. I'm past Emma being a bitch to me. If she's not over being a bitch, that's her problem. I've tried to be nice._

When Riley sat down though, she was surprised to find that Emma said hi to her and actually began a conversation.

"Hey Riley," Emma greeted her. Then, "So how'd it feel to actually be on the ice celebrating with the guys tonight?"

For a second, Riley just looked at Emma and didn't respond because she was so shocked that Emma was being seemingly nice to her. There was no undertone of sarcasm or rudeness in her tone at all.

"It was great!" Riley said. "But seeing their celebration, I would have been happy no matter where I was sitting. It was just great to see the win!"

"Wooooohooo!" Emma screamed. "You're telling me!"

Everyone at the table laughed, and it was then that Riley realized Emma was really drunk. Riley laughed too, not only because Emma's outburst was funny, but because she thought the whole situation was funny. Emma was probably only talking to Riley because she was drunk. As if to answer that unspoken thought though, Emma spoke to Riley again.

"Oh yeah, I'm totally drunk by the way. But that's not why I'm talking to you. I haven't seen you much during the Olympics, so I haven't been able to tell you, but I've decided you're not so bad after all. Only sometimes." Everyone laughed again, now because of Emma's confession.

"You're sort of over sharing a little too much info," Bah told his best friend. "Not that we all don't already know exactly how you felt about Riley, including Riley."

"I guess it's not really over sharing when everyone already knows anyway," Kristen pointed out.

More of the team then showed up at the bar. For the rest of the evening they celebrated, all having a good time in each other's company.

* * *

Two days later, the team played Finland for the gold medal. They won four to two, finishing their unbelievable Olympic journey. This time it was even harder to get the guys off the ice. Not only was it the celebrating, but no one wanted it to be over.

After the medal ceremony, the team spent one last night together at the same bar they went to the night before. By the time 'last call' came around, everyone was sort of mellowed out. Today was bittersweet for all of them.

"I'm really gonna miss you guys," Phil announced.

"Me too," Mac agreed.

"We're going to have to have team reunions," Rizzo said.

Everyone agreed with that. "At least some of you will get to play on the same teams and live in the same cities," Kristen pointed out.

"Yeah but it won't be the same," Bah said. "Just because I might get to hang out with Mac and Rammer if I play in Buffalo, I won't get to hang out with Buzz, Silk, OC, or anyone else," Bah said, only naming a few of the guys specifically.

"Glad to know that I'm not good enough," Rammer joked.

"Rammer, you'll always be good enough for me," Mac told him, patting his friend's shoulder.

"Are you sure you're not gay," Silk teased Mac. "Sometimes I really wonder about you."

Instead of replying verbally, Mac just gave Silky the finger.

"Riley, who are you going to miss most?" Silky asked, turning his attention to the teen. He had a smirk on his face, thinking he already knew the answer to his question.

Instead of answering OC like Silk thought though, Riley replied, "Well, you of course, Silky."

A lot of the guys laughed at her response.

"I'm gonna miss Bah the most," Emma said, giving her best friend in the seat next to her a hug.

"You guys are best friends though, so you'll definitely still hang out," Buzz pointed out.

* * *

The next morning, the team had one last breakfast together before checking out of the hotel and leaving Lake Placid. As everyone made their way back to their rooms to pick up their bags, OC pulled Riley aside just after they got off the elevator. She was pretty quiet all morning, and just didn't seem herself and OC wanted to make sure everything was okay.

"Hey Ri, you okay?" OC asked, grabbing Riley's arm.

"Yeah I'm Riley," Riley replied, unconvincingly.

"You sure?" OC asked, not believing her for a second.

"No, I'm fine, really." Now Riley faked a smile.

"Liar. I can see right through you."

"Fine," Riley said, giving in. She'd tell OC what was wrong if he really wanted to know. "I don't want this to be over."

"None of us do, Riley," OC told her.

"I know, but it's just that I finally think I started fitting in with everyone, and I finally became friends with you guys, and now it's over."

"You'll meet so many people in college that you'll forget all of us."

"I don't know about that Jack. You're one person I'll never forget."

"Well, yeah," OC started. "I won't let you. We'll hang out so much that you'll be sick of me."

Riley smiled. "We better hang out."

Just then, Silky walked up to them and half startled them when he spoke. "What is this - the flirting corner?"

"We were just talking," Riley answered quickly.

"Did you want something?" OC asked after a few seconds of Silky just standing there and not responding.

"Uh, yeah, can I borrow Riley for a minute?"

"Why?" OC asked.

"Are you her father of something?" Silky asked. He then realized what he said and felt a little bad. "I just meant, why is it any of your business?"

"It's okay," Riley said. "Jack, you have to get your bags and stuff anyway. I'll catch you downstairs in a few."

OC left, leaving Riley and Silky standing in the hallway. Once Silky knew no one was within earshot, he began speaking.

"I wanted to tell you again that I'm sorry and I wanted to thank you."

"Sorry and thank me for what?" Riley asked, confused because she had absolutely no idea what Silky had to be sorry for.

"Well, I'm sorry about what happened between us," Silky said guiltily.

"Silky, that was months ago!"

"I know. But I guess more importantly, I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?"

"You could have told your uncle and had me kicked off the team, maybe even thrown in jail. I probably deserved some sort of punishment."

"I take as much of the blame as you. I was really in a bad place as far as my life was concerned. I thought sleeping with you would make everything better."

"Sorry that it didn't."

"I'm better now though, so that's all that matters to me."

"Okay," Silky said, somewhat convinced by Riley's relaxed attitude about the situation.

"I think we both learned a lesson from what happened," Riley said, trying to joke with him to further convince him everything was really okay. They had sex months ago, but clearly Silky hadn't quite gotten over it. Riley figured it was probably because he wanted to make sure things were left on a good note.

Silky noticed Riley's smile and draped his arm loosely around her shoulder. "I guess we did, didn't we?" he replied with a smile.

"I learned a lot from everyone over the last several months," Riley said to herself, thinking back on her time with the team. Although she was sad that it was over, she was happy she had so many good times to remember.


	40. Chapter 40: A Sunny Day

Peachy65: Thanks for the review! Hope you like the end.

NellieBly413672: Thanks for the review! Glad you liked it, sorry it's over but I hope you enjoy the chapter!

A/N: Okay, first off, I'm soooo sorry it took me over a month to post this. I've been studying so much for my boards and I haven't had much time to write. The good news is my boards were today. Seven hours of testing and I'm finally done! So I got home and decided I had to finish this chapter! Bad news is that this is the last chapter of the story. I'm sort of sad this is the end, but I'm excited to start working on my new story. I wanted to post a preview for it, but needless to say I didn't have time to write anything. I do have a lot of ideas though. Don't expect it to be up until late this summer though. Okay, without further adieu, here it is. Please read and review!

**Chapter 40: A Sunny Day**

_I'm waitin', waitin' on a sunny day _

_Gonna chase the clouds away _

_Waitin' on a sunny day_

**April 1980**

Two months after the games, Rammer and Mac were finally settled in Buffalo, enjoying their time playing with the Sabres in the NHL. Since they moved to Buffalo late in the season and neither knew what would happen after the season ended, they decided to get an apartment together at least until they figured out what was going on.

One afternoon, their last free afternoon before playoffs began, Rammer went shopping because he and Mac were almost out of food. As he pulled his credit card out of his wallet, getting ready for his turn at the register, a piece of paper floated to ground. Rammer didn't notice dropping anything, but the girl behind him did and picked it up.

"Excuse me," the girl said, tapping Rammer on the shoulder. "I think you dropped this."

Rammer turned around and saw a semi-familiar looking girl holding out a small piece of paper. He didn't even look at the paper at first, because he was too focused on the girl. It almost seemed like he knew her from somewhere.

Rammer snapped out of his trance, thanked the girl, and took a look at the paper. Seeing a phone number with the name Sara written above it jogged his memory. This was from the girl he met in Minnesota just before leaving for the Olympics.

Rammer stuffed the paper back in his wallet, knowing he'd probably never call the girl, because even though he had liked her, he knew almost two months after they initially met she'd probably no longer be interested, if she ever even was in the first place.

"That looked important," the girl sort of joked, trying to make conversation with Rammer as he waited for his turn in the checkout line.

"It was just someone I met in Minnesota a few months ago," Rammer said, trying not to sound too disappointed at the thought that he'd most likely never see her again. He didn't even know why he actually told this stranger that, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Can I ask you a question?" the girl asked, just after Rammer turned away from her.

"Sure," he replied, trying to sound as pleasant as possible. He sort of wished he could just be left alone.

"Okay, this might sound sort of weird but… by any chance are you on the Sabres?"

Rammer was shocked that this girl knew he played for the Sabres. He really didn't think he was that recognizable.

"I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have asked," the girl apologized, seeing the look on Rammer's face.

"No, that's okay. It's just that I've never really been recognized before." Rammer was also confused. He still couldn't shake that the girl looked sort of familiar - _Is she stalking me?_ Rammer wondered, thinking maybe that was why he'd seen her before. He'd heard guys on his team telling horror stories, but thought that they must have been exaggerating.

"Well, then this is about to get weirder," the girl said. _Oh no,_ Rammer thought thinking the worst. She then explained, "I think my sister's phone number was on that piece of paper."

"Excuse me?" Rammer asked, now very confused.

"I couldn't help but notice it when I picked it up. I saw the name and first three numbers. At first I thought it was a coincidence, but then you said you met the girl in Minnesota… my sister said she met a really cute guy that was going to play for the Sabres there." Now it made sense. If they were sisters, it would explain why she looked so familiar. She looked like a couple years older version of Sara.

Instead of a shock or surprise sort of response for having run into Sara's sister, Rammer instead asked, "She said that?" wondering if Sara really described him as cute.

"Yeah. Are you going to call her?"

"Ummm," Rammer replied.

"She's been hoping you would."

"Did she say that?" Rammer wondered, smiling at the thought.

"Well, no. But I know her as well as anyone does. She'd definitely love it if you called."

"Then I'll call," Rammer stated.

Rammer did end up calling Sara, just as he promised, and when he did, she answered the phone as if expecting his call. Rammer was then sure her sister must have told her about the grocery store incident. Since he was going to be busy with playoffs, and she was busy with final exams for college, they decided to wait a few weeks to go on an official date.

When they did get to go out though, they both not only felt like they knew each other for years because they spent so much time getting to know each other on the phone over the previous weeks, but they also both felt a huge connection. They both really wanted their relationship to last.

**May 1980**

Late in the season, the same time as Buffalo was eliminated in the semi-final round of the NHL playoffs, Bah was playing in Rochester for Buffalo's American League affiliate team when he took a bad check from behind. He ended up in the hospital with a concussion, a fractured jaw, missing teeth, and a broken nose.

Kristen took the first flight out of Minnesota, where she still was at the time, to be with him. Not only was she terrified, but so was Bah. His injuries were already bad enough, but they could have been even worse.

He was talking to Kristen about how he could have played in Europe, where they were known for having a cleaner game.

"Then you should do it," Kristen said, fully supporting her boyfriend.

"I don't know, Kris," he said. Bah actually did want to give playing in Europe a try, but at the same time, he didn't want Kristen to feel like she had to move out of the country. She was already planning on moving across the country for him. He didn't want to push it by asking her to move across the Atlantic.

"I'll go with you," Kristen said. "I just want you to be happy, and I want to be with you. I don't care where that is."

"Your parents will flip," Bah pointed out. Her parents weren't all that thrilled when she told them she was leaving Minnesota to be with her boyfriend.

"So what?" Kristen said. "I'm a big girl. If I wanted to move to the Moon to be with my amazingly wonderful boyfriend, they wouldn't be able to stop me," she said with a big smile. Kristen rubbed Bah's arm from her seat right next to his hospital bed.

"Well, I think they were mainly upset since you're moving and we're only dating," Bah said. He didn't think, he knew. They were waiting for an engagement announcement since Kristen told them she was moving to be with Bah.

"Like I said, I'm a big girl. Besides, whether we'd been dating for a month, dating for three years, engaged, or married, I would only move with the man I love if I was absolutely sure it was what I wanted. And I want this," she stated. "And someday we can make them happy with the news we're getting married. But until then, I'm just fine with them being a little upset."

"I love you," Bah told Kristen sincerely. "That's the first thing I thought when I was laying there on the ice, before I lost consciousness. I was afraid I might never get to tell you again. I don't want to wait anymore."

"Wait for what, babe?" Kristen asked.

"I love you. You've just offered to move across the ocean for me! I want to show you that I'd do the same someday, when you want me to. We're going to be together forever anyway, so why wait any longer? Kristen, will you marry me?"

Kristen's eyes went wide. She knew it would happen eventually, but she didn't expect it tonight. "Oh my God," she finally said.

"I'm sorry," Bah said, feeling like a complete idiot. "You must think I'm crazy," he said, realizing how dumb he must look. "Talk about spur of the moment. I don't even have a ring. Can we forget I asked?" He hoped Kristen would because he felt so bad. This was as far from romantic as it could have been - him with a broken face in a hospital bed, without a ring or anything.

"No," Kristen told him. Now she was crying. "We can't forget. I don't care that you don't have a ring. I want to marry you!" she said, throwing her arms around Bah. "I love you!"

"I love you too," Bah said. Now he started laughing. "But we really can forget about this until I ask you appropriately. Like, with a ring and somewhere a little more romantic…"

"Don't be silly," Kristen said. "This was the perfect proposal. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

**October 1980**

A few months later Bah and Kristen were enjoying their time in Switzerland with Bah playing for Lugano. They traveled together around to different cities when they could although it wasn't often. Kristen didn't mind not having much time with Bah though, because she kept herself occupied. Since Buzz was playing in Switzerland as well, Kristen and Gayle often hung out – Bern was only about an hour and a half away from Lugano, so sometimes they even met to take short trips together. One game early in the season actually had Buzz and Bah playing against each other. After the game the group of four went out for dinner.

"How about a bottle of wine?" Bah asked the group.

"None for me," Gayle said, trying to hide the huge smile growing on her face.

Kristen glanced between the married couple. She noticed that Gayle was just glowing. Buzz looked really happy too. _Are they?_ she wondered.

"Sure?" Bah asked, about the wine. "It's on me."

"No, I can't," Gayle said, and this time there was no hiding that smile. She looked right at Kristen, knowing exactly what the blonde was thinking. "Yes, what you're thinking is correct," Gayle told her.

"Oh my gosh! Congratulations!"

"What's going on?" Bah asked, with a totally clueless grin.

Gayle looked at her husband and nodded for him to give his friend the news.

"We're pregnant," Buzz said, already looking like a proud father.

"Oh my God – congratulations man!" Bah said, getting up to give his friend a 'man hug'. Since the girls were on the inside of the booth they were at, they didn't get up to hug each other.

"Wow, congratulations," Bah said again.

The rest of the night was present talking about the baby. Buzz and Gayle didn't know the sex yet, but she was due in April, so she still had about six months to go. Bah noticed how excited Kristen was at talk about the baby, and although he and Kristen had discussed kids and decided to wait a couple years until Bah was more settled down and a little closer to the end of his playing career, Bah found himself even more excited to marry her and have kids of their own.

**March 1981**

When Riley began school that fall, she instantly decided coming back to Chicago was the best decision she could have made. She loved almost everything about college, and it was even better than she got to hang out with OC occasionally. It wasn't until the spring of her freshman year that her world almost came crashing down on her once again.

OC was relaxing in his apartment in downtown Chicago one night after a home game when he heard an unexpected knock at the door. He reluctantly got up to answer, thinking it was probably someone he didn't want to see. _I'll have to remind that new doorman not to just anyone up here,_ OC thought to himself, walking to the door. He was shocked when he saw Riley standing outside his apartment. He hadn't seen her for a few weeks now because they both had been really busy. His face must have shown the surprise because Riley immediately apologized for bothering him and offered to leave.

"No, no, don't be silly – you just got here. Come on in," OC said, opening the door far enough to let Riley inside. OC now noticed Riley looked a mess and that, along with it being well past midnight, he knew something was wrong.

"I'm so glad you're here," Riley said quickly, pushing past him to get inside. "I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here. Do you have something to drink?" Riley asked, still speaking a mile a minute. OC was lucky he could even understand her. "Something strong," Riley added. "I need something strong," she repeated, half to herself. "I know that's what I would have done if you weren't here. I passed that bar on the corner on my way here, but decided to see if you were home first. Not that I really wanted to go to the bar, but I would have needed to. I just need to forget this day ever happened because…oh my God," Riley said, now breaking down into tears. She slid onto the floor with her back against the wall. A very concerned OC immediately ran to her side to sit down next to her. OC wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

He held her for a few minutes in silence before asking, "Riley, what's going on?"

Riley wiped her eyes, and then attempted a laugh. "I'm sorry. I'm being overdramatic. I should go," she said, starting to stand up.

"Hey, hey, hey, hold it!" OC said, grabbing Riley's arm to pull her back down. "You are not going anywhere. Not until you tell me what's going on with you." OC knew Riley was just trying to fake being strong and tough, and that she was still a mess on the inside.

Riley sat back down but said, "I'll really be okay, Jack. I'm sorry I bothered you. I know Melody…Melanie…Marissa…" Riley tried to remember the hockey player's girlfriend's name, but wasn't having much luck. "I know she'd be mad if she saw me here."

"Melissa," OC finished for her. "We broke up, so don't worry about her."

"I'm sorry, Jack," Riley said. "Here I am, going on about my problems and you and Melissa broke up!"

Jack smiled. "Riley, Riley, Riley… one, you haven't told me about 'your problems' yet, and two, you hated Melissa."

"I'm still sorry though. You liked her," Riley reminded him. The truth was, Riley hated Melissa. She could see right through the girl that was just with OC because he was a star hockey player. Riley did take pleasure in knowing that Melissa was jealous of Riley though. OC complained to Riley a number of times that Melissa didn't like them hanging out. According to OC, Melissa didn't think the two of them hanging out was "appropriate".

"Eh, not really," OC replied to Riley's comment that he liked Melissa. "I guess I did at one point…" _which was only for certain, specific reasons,_ "but I took into consideration what you had to say about her and realized you were totally right. She wasn't good for me. So don't feel bad about me breaking up with her. Now I want to know what's going on with you."

"I had rough day."

"A rough day?" OC asked, not buying it. Riley was definitely underplaying that. "Riley, you can talk to me," OC said, gently massaging Riley's shoulders. "Tell me what's going on."

Riley turned to face OC and let out a long sigh. "Well, it all started when I talked to my mom this afternoon…it's about Eric."

OC was a little worried with where this was going. He remembered Riley telling him a few months before that her mother met this guy, Eric, at a group for people that lost their spouses to cancer. Riley was really upset because she didn't want her mom hanging out with a guy, and since she pushed her mom to join the group, she felt it was her fault because they would have never met otherwise.

OC thought back to the night Riley came over with that news. Melissa was pissed because OC had to help a very intoxicated Riley and "ignored" Melissa. After OC calmed Riley down and talked to her, he thought she was okay. But now, it seemed like something happened because Riley was nowhere near okay.

"What happened, Ri?" OC asked, his arm still wrapped around his friend.

"My mom dropped the bomb on me that they're getting married! I didn't even know they were fucking dating and now I find out they're getting _married_!" Riley said the word married like it was the plague. "My dad hasn't even been dead two years and she's already trying to replace him!"

"Riley," Jack began. "I'm sure that's not what your mom is trying to do."

"And then – as if things weren't bad enough already," Riley continued, almost as if she didn't hear OC's last comment, "I decide to go talk to my roommate about it. Her parents are divorced and she has this absolutely horrible stepmother. I figured she'd know what I'm going through, right?" OC nodded to show he was paying attention. Riley continued. "I walk in my room to find her with Scott!"

"Scott as in your boyfriend, Scott?" OC asked. Then, "_With_, with? As in, having sex with?"

Riley nodded, though embarrassed and unable to admit it out loud. She looked down, not even wanting to make eye contact with OC. OC hugged Riley tight, feeling so bad for her.

"I'm so sorry," he finally said with his face pressed into her hair.

Riley finally pulled away, her face soaked with tears. "How could they do this to me? I thought Scott loved me. I thought Nicky was my friend. I thought I could trust them both."

A few minutes later, Riley spoke up again. "The worst part is that this is my fault."

"How is it your fault?"

Riley guiltily looked up at OC. "I wouldn't sleep with him."

For a few seconds, OC didn't know how to respond. He was shocked Riley thought that. He was also pleasantly surprised she didn't sleep with him. It wasn't that OC didn't like Scott, because the hockey player barely knew him. OC just didn't want to ever think about them having sex. Finally, OC said, "That doesn't make it your fault."

"If I would have, he wouldn't have slept with Nicky," Riley said, in a voice that sounded so childlike and naïve.

"Riley," OC said with a sigh. "It is _not_ your fault! Don't even think that for a second. Scott's a jerk. You know what?" OC asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "He would have slept with Nicky anyway if he wanted to, and then it just would have hurt even more if you had slept with him." After they sat in silence for a few minutes, OC asked the question he wanted to before but didn't. "Why didn't you want to have sex with him?"

Riley looked at OC, knowing that she could tell him without any judgment. Anyone else, Riley wouldn't have felt so sure, but she knew she could trust OC. No matter how stupid it sounded. "My reasons are probably dumb," Riley began. Then she added, "A couple weeks ago, Nicky actually told me I was just making excuses, but I'll tell you anyway… First, he refused to wear a condom. I mean, I am on the pill…ya know, just in case… but I wanted to be extra careful - he could have an STD. I don't want to get anything. Besides that, I don't want to have sex with just anyone. I wanted to make sure we really loved each other. Unfortunately Scott knew about my past and how I lost my virginity and inferred sex wasn't a big deal to me."

"I'm so sorry Riley," OC said, not knowing what else to say.

"I know I'm not perfect," Riley admitted. "But I'm trying to be a better person. I learned from my mistakes, and I don't want to go down that road again." Riley meant 'that road' as in the multiple people she hooked up with from the Olympic team.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to wait to have sex," OC told her.

"Says the famous hockey player that can have any girl he wants," Riley joked.

"That's not fair," OC said. "You know I'm not like that."

Riley raised her eyebrows, silently saying, _"Could have fooled me."_

"Okay," OC conceded, reading Riley's expression. "I'm not perfect either. But if a girl I loved told me she wanted to wait, I would. And believe me, if Scott wanted to have sex with you that bad, he wouldn't have had a problem wearing a condom."

Riley smiled. She knew OC was right. "Thanks, Jack."

"Anytime, Ri."

Riley was still upset about Scott, but OC made her feel a lot better. They continued talking about the wedding too. OC explained that maybe finding a nice guy, like Eric was a really good thing. Riley was already gone, and after Kyle and Erin grew up, their mom would be alone. He told Riley not to think of Eric and his kids as a replacement. Riley appreciated OC's efforts, but she didn't completely agree with him at this point.

Riley stayed in OC's spare room that night, and the next night, and soon it turned into two and half weeks. Before Riley knew it, she had totally moved in with OC. She couldn't bear to live with Nicky anymore, and she didn't really want to face anyone else in her hallway either. She wasn't sure what Nicky told anyone, but figured it was probably stretching the truth in favor of what she did with Scott.

**July 1981**

A few months later, it was summer and both school and hockey season ended. Bah and Kristen were back in the US after Bah finished his one and only season in Europe. They were in full force wedding planning mode, although they weren't getting married until the following summer. Bah was also getting everything together for his future playing plans. At the start of next season, he was playing on the US National team. As nice as it was playing in Europe, Bah really missed home, so he was excited for next season. Besides that, he was starting a family with Kristen now and wanted to be near the rest of their families.

Riley enjoyed her summer vacation as well, spending most of her time in Minnesota because that's where her mom was, but she missed Chicago. If she was honest with herself, there was one thing about Chicago in particular that she missed, and that one thing was OC. She had thought that spending some time away from him would be a good thing, but it was anything but. Riley knew she was falling for him, but she also did everything she could to ignore her feelings.

Instead of thinking about how much she missed Chicago, she tried to fill her time helping her mom plan her wedding. The more she got to know Eric, the more Riley realized that he wasn't such a bad guy.

The first few weeks at home were hard because Eric kept trying to involve Riley in things. He had two kids of his own, both a few years younger than Kyle and Erin, and Riley's siblings were already meshing well with their soon to be step-family and looking forward to having little kids in the house. Riley didn't want to be a part of any of it at first.

It took Riley a lot of thinking, as well as talking to her mom and close friends, including phone calls to OC, to realize that no one was trying to replace her dad. Eric had been taking the kids to parks, the zoo, and baseball games all summer, and Riley finally agreed to go along with everyone. Riley even went to a baseball with just Eric one night. It was a little awkward at first, but she found that Eric was a really good guy and he was really easy to get along with.

"Riley, I can understand it if you're not exactly okay with the idea of me and your mom getting married," Eric said while they watched the game from what Riley admitted were really generous seats. She knew what the face value of the tickets right behind the dugout was, and she almost felt a little bad that Eric felt he needed to impress her or buy her affection – whatever it was that he was trying to do.

Before Riley could respond, Eric continued. "I love your mom, and I promise that I'm not trying to replace your dad." Riley looked at Eric, knowing he was telling the truth but still having doubts she couldn't explain. She had been told no one was trying to replace her dad several times now. There was something else that made Riley uncomfortable though.

"You know, when Ann died," he said, speaking about his late wife, "I really wondered how I could go on. Especially with the kids. They were only four and two at the time. I could barely parent with my wife, let alone be a single parent." Riley did quick math to realize that his wife died about two years ago. About the same time as her dad. "It was so hard. I went to the support group because my brother talked me into it. He saw that I was heading in a downward spiral. I needed to make sure I didn't fall completely apart."

A two base hit by a player on the other team broke the conversation for a minute, but then Eric spoke up again. "Then your mom started coming to the group, and by that time, I was doing a lot better. Your mom seemed so strong and I couldn't believe it. She was clearly the opposite from me. When she introduced herself to the group, she said that her oldest daughter talked her into coming. I remember her saying that she was so proud of you and you're the biggest thing reason that she didn't fall apart."

"But I was terrible to her at first!" Riley said. She didn't mean to say it out loud, but she was so shocked at what she heard, it slipped out.

"Well, she didn't say that," Eric said. "She said that you took it the hardest at first, and for good reason, but that you came so far in just a few months. Your mom wanted things to go back to normal too."

"How did you start talking?" Riley asked, never having heard the details before. She was never interested in the details before.

Eric smiled. "Well, one day I was talking about my daughter and how I didn't know how to deal with her tantrums. My wife was the one that was the expert with that. She didn't have many tantrums, but after Ann died, she started to have more. After the meeting your mom stopped me and said she might be able to help. We ended up grabbing some dinner and she gave me advice. That dinner turned into one after almost every meeting. Neither one of us was looking for anything, but our relationship sort of evolved."

The inning was over and the Twins were now running off the field to take their turn batting. "Your mom talked about all three of you, but I think she talked about you the most. She's really proud of you, Riley."

"Thanks," Riley said, thanking him for telling her all of this. Her mom always told her she was proud of her and stuff, but to hear it from someone else made Riley feel great.

"You know, I was really nervous to meet you."

"You were?" Riley asked.

"Well, yeah. I knew how important you are to your mom, and I was worried about making a good impression. I knew there were a million reasons for you to hate me."

"I don't hate you," Riley said. "You're a nice guy. I know you love my mom, and Kyle and Erin. It's just…I don't know." Riley still couldn't put a finger on what exactly was making her uneasy.

"It honestly never occurred to me that I could love another person as much as Ann. I knew that the day I married her. Then the kids came along, and I loved them just as much as Ann. When she died, I never thought that I would ever get married again. It didn't even cross my mind," Eric said. "Then I fell in love with your mom. I met your brother and sister, and soon realized I loved them too. Now I know there's always room in your heart for more love. Just because you love someone new, doesn't mean you have to stop loving anyone you've lost. I'll never forget Ann, and I'll always love her, just like your family will never forget and always love your dad. But now I love your family too. And it's good to know we can remember and cherish the past but try to move on too."

Eric's words really got to Riley, who was now trying to hold back tears. She now knew what she was uneasy about. She knew Eric wasn't going to replace her dad, but she was afraid her mom would love Eric more. Her reservations about Eric were vanishing now that she realized nothing was going to change past. Her dad would always be her dad and her mom's first husband. It wasn't so much about having a new family and a new husband to love as it was extending the family and having a second husband to love.

**November 1981**

Once the school year started back up again, Riley was back in Chicago, living at OC's apartment once again. Riley could have dormed with a friend on campus but since OC liked her company and Riley liked living with him, they decided it was best for her to save some money and continue living with OC.

One night, a month after hockey season began, Riley and OC were hanging out like they did a number of other nights, this time watching a movie. Riley's mind was far from the movie though. Over the past week, she had been trying to find a new place to live. She did like living with OC - he was easy to get along with and nice company when he wasn't on the road, but Riley realized she was developing a huge crush on the hockey player. Riley wanted to leave before she ended up doing something stupid. If he ever found out her feelings, she knew things wouldn't be the same between them. She'd rather keep things the way they were, even if it meant hiding her feelings, because she didn't want to lose the friendship they had.

"Well, you might be happy to know that I might have found someone on campus to live with," Riley said, not caring that she was interrupting the movie.

"What?" OC asked, very surprised. He had no idea she was planning on moving out. "Why?"

"Well, I just thought it'd be easier."

"Oh," was OC's response. He was a little hurt that she wanted to live somewhere else. OC thought she liked living with him. He really liked having her around too, and he was sure she knew it. She always had so much energy and enthusiasm for what she was doing in school, for him and his hockey career, and just life in general. Riley could always cheer him up after a bad game, he loved her cooking, even if she messed up more often than not, and at times he almost thought he loved Riley in general. He knew they were friends, but sometimes he wondered if there could ever be something else there – something more to their relationship. _Who am I kidding?_ OC thought. _I'm totally crazy. She doesn't like me like that. Maybe her moving out would be a good thing…for my sanity._

"Are you okay?" Riley asked, sensing something was wrong with OC. He seemed funny all of sudden.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, though not very convincingly.

"Come on, Jack…" Riley walked her first two fingers close to him and then up his arm. "I'm gonna tickle you if you don't tell me," Riley threatened.

"I like having you here. I don't want you to move," he said, with an unattached like tone, staring at the TV.

"Why not?" Riley asked curiously. Sometimes she thought there were signs that OC liked her as more than just a friend and roommate, but she couldn't be sure.

"Because," OC said. He now looked into Riley's eyes, knowing as soon as he saw those beautiful seas of green, he'd be a lost cause, but he did it anyway. As Riley looked into OC's eyes, she felt exactly what he was feeling. They leaned toward each other and shared a kiss. It wasn't overly passionate, but left both breathless as they pulled away.

"Because?" Riley asked, repeating OC's last word. Then, "You wouldn't be able to do that whenever you wanted?" Riley smiled, trying to make light of a somewhat awkward situation.

Riley was relieved when OC smiled back, though a somewhat nervous looking smile.

"I love you, Riley," OC said, taking a huge chance with the words he'd been denying though wanting to say for quite a while.

"I think I love you too, Jack," Riley said back.

"You think you love me?" OC tried to joke. He was still half nervous and now almost regretted saying it.

Riley shook her head. "No, I know I love you. I'm just trying to determine when I started loving you as more than a friend."

**May 1982**

The next spring, soon after Riley finished school for the summer, was Riley's mom's wedding. It was also the offseason for OC at this point, the Blackhawks lost in the semi-final round of the playoffs, so they made the trip to Minnesota together. They were dating and stronger than ever at this point. It was weird how they went from hating each other when they first met to being head over heels in love with each other. After the wedding, the couple took a trip to Boston to visit OC's family and friends.

They got to see Rizzo and Pam, who were now happily married and expecting their first baby in few months. They also got to see Silky and Jimmy, who were visiting Boston during their time off as well.

As expected, Silky gave the couple a hard time. He wasn't nasty or mean about them getting together, he just joked about how he always knew it would happen. Silky didn't bring up the fact that he slept with Riley a long time ago. Whether that was because Silky knew it was inappropriate or because his girlfriend was with them, they weren't sure. Not that Silky and Riley's escapade wasn't common knowledge, but as far as OC and Riley were concerned, they wanted that part of the past to stay there, so they were glad Silky didn't bring it up.

As much as Silky acted like his good old self, both OC and Riley did notice that Silky had changed a lot. They were assuming the reason was Shannon - Silky's latest girlfriend. When Shannon excused herself at lunch to use the restroom, Silky told the two that she was 'different'. He couldn't explain it, but both OC and Riley were really happy for him and hoped that he indeed did find 'the one'.

On the fourth of July, OC and Riley spent the afternoon with OC's family at a big picnic. Riley had never met OC's whole family before, and she didn't realize how big it was. Both his mom and dad had several siblings, so OC had tons of cousins. OC was actually the oldest cousin, and the youngest was just two years old so the age range was huge.

That night, they went to see fireworks by Boston Harbor together. It was just the two of them, everyone else was watching the fireworks somewhere else.

OC and Riley laid on a blanket together, waiting for the show to begin.

"Did you have fun today?" OC asked, holding his girlfriend close.

"Yeah. Your family is great."

"You were having lots of fun with Emily," OC said, smiling.

"She's adorable," Riley said. Emily was the two year old.

"Makes you want one, doesn't it," OC half joked.

"I hope my kids are as cute as her."

"If they're at all like you, I know they will be," OC told her.

Riley turned her body so she was sort facing OC. She looked into his eyes and said, "I love you."

OC kissed her forehead, then her nose, then planted a peck on her lips. "I love you too," he told her. "Riley?" OC said, after she had settled back into her comfortable position, half laying and half sitting with her back against his chest.

"Yeah?" she asked and turned around again because OC was trying move from behind her.

"I love you."

Riley laughed a little because he just told her that a few seconds before. "I love you too," she responded.

OC reached into his pocket and pulled out a little black box, making the red head gasp.

"I mean I really, really love you. A few years ago, I never thought that was possible," OC said, pausing for a few seconds before continuing. "I didn't know if I could love anyone enough to know it would be forever, but I definitely didn't see myself loving you that much." OC looked down at the box he was holding, then looked up at his teary-eyed girlfriend. "But somehow, I fell in love. We've been through so much together - happy, sad, exciting things. . . and I want to go through the rest of our lives together too. OO paused and opened the ring box, revealing a beautiful diamond ring. "Riley Nicole Brennan," OC he started and paused again, beaming while Riley was crying, "Will you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?"

"Yes! Yes!" Riley said, vigorously shaking her head, then wiping a tear that was rolling down her cheek. OC slipped the ring on Riley's finger. "I love you," she said, hugging him tight and then kissing him.

"I love you," OC said, for the third time in three minutes.

Between the two of them, at least fifty more "I love you"s were said over the remaining part of their night. They enjoyed the fireworks in each other's arms, and then celebrated with some more fireworks of their own back in the privacy of their hotel room.

**August 1982**

In late August, OC and Riley were back in Minnesota once again, this time for Bah and Kristen's wedding. Riley was especially excited now because she was starting to think about her own wedding.

"Jack! Riley!" Kristen said when she got a chance to see them at the reception. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

"You look gorgeous, Kristen," Riley told her.

"Thank you so much. I heard you have some pretty exciting news yourself."

"Who told you?" Riley asked.

"Gayle. I think Buzz told her. He probably heard it from Mac, who heard it from someone else. You know the guys and their gossip," Kristen said.

"Yeah," Bah said. "We're almost as bad as you girls, right?" he joked.

"Hey Jack, hey Riley," Emma said, coming u to greet them.

"Hi Emma."

Riley didn't really know what to say to make conversation. She and Emma never really got along, and she didn't see a friendship beginning tonight either. As long as they were civil, things would be fine.

"Great job Maid-of-Honoring," Riley said. Emma laughed.

"Thanks," she said nicely and with a smile, leaving Riley almost wondering if Emma was drunk already. The newlyweds, Emma, Riley, and OC talked a few minutes before Bah and Kristen excused themselves to say hi to more guests.

"Well, I have to go too," Emma said. "My partner in crime is somewhere around here," she added as she looked around the crowd.

They both knew she was talking about Pav, the best man. There were a couple rumors going around that they were an item now, but no knew for sure. Bah didn't even know and Emma and Pav were two of his best friends, with Emma usually telling him even more than he wanted to know, so no one was sure.

As the night went on, a lot of the guys were hitting up the dance floor with their significant others. It was amazing how much had changed in a couple years. Guys like Silky and Verchota, who no one ever thought would settle down, actually seemed tamed. They both had girlfriends with them. Even more guys on the team were engaged. At one point, Buzz and Gayle were passing around pictures of their son Billy, who was now sixteen months old. He was walking, talking a little, and already playing hockey.

"He's going to grow up to be just like you, Buzz," everyone had been saying.

**July 1984**

OC and Riley were married two summers later in Chicago. They waited two years because Riley wanted to finish school first and this timing put her college graduation a couple months before the big day. It would have also made more sense to get married in either Boston or St. Paul because of where their families were, but Riley always dreamed of her wedding at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.

When they were in the beginning stages of planning the wedding, Riley was going to concede and have it in Boston because as she told OC "she loved Boston" when she was there. OC knew the real reason for her quick succession though. OC's family was very big and Riley didn't want her mom to have to pay for his whole family to fly anyplace and Riley couldn't afford it by herself either. The hockey player also knew how much his fiancée truly wanted the wedding in Chicago, so he told her he'd take care of getting his family to Chicago.

The day was perfect with all of their loved ones with them. The only thing that was missing was Riley's dad. Before walking down the aisle, Riley was in the dressing room at the church, doing last minute touch ups. Riley pulled out the note she'd read so many times before, and read it again.

_Dear Riley_

_I hope you never get this letter, but if you're reading this, it means I've lost my battle. I know it's hard, it's hard for me to write this, but you'll make it through. Take care of things for me - your mom will need help with Kyle and Erin. I know things will be hard at first. Just remember to always go for your dreams and never give up. Live everyday to the fullest and never live with regrets. I'll always be watching over you, so you better make me proud. Even though I won't physically be there to see your graduation, I won't be able to walk you down the aisle, and I'll never meet your kids, I'll be there. I know you think you're strong, but remember, it's okay to cry. I love you so much and you'll always be my little girl._

_Love,_

_Dad_

Riley was strong for most of it, but began crying when she got to the past about her dad not being around to see her get married.

"Oh dad," she whispered. "I wish you were here."

Just then, her sister walked back in the room. "Well, it's almost that time. Jack looks so nervous but not nervous enough to run away or anything. Although I think-" Erin stopped mid sentence, noticing her big sister was crying.

"Riley, it's okay," Erin said, rushing to her sister's side to give her a hug. Erin knew why Riley was crying. "Dad's here today you know." the twelve-year-old told Riley. "He's looking down thinking you look so beautiful, and he's so proud of you. I know, because _I_ think you look beautiful and I'm proud of you." Erin kissed Riley on her cheek. "And dad would also tell you that you look beautiful even with your Rudolph nose that's a tell tale sign you've been crying."

Riley laughed now and hugged her sister. Her nose always got really red when she cried. "Thanks Erin. You always know what to say to make me feel better."

"That's what sisters are for," Erin said. "It's a good thing you're wearing waterproof mascara."

"I know. So how's it look out there. Other than Jack being nervous."

"It's packed. You two have a lot of friends."

"They're mostly Jack's friends. We invited his whole team plus the guys from the Olympics team."

"Well, those guys are all your friends too," Erin said. "I remember you hung out with them all the time."

"Yeah," Riley said, though without much enthusiasm. She then thought back to the Olympic journey. At first, she wasn't sure who on the team actually liked her, and she knew even the ones that did were probably pretending. As their time together went on, Riley knew that the guys did start to consider her a friend. But 'friend' was a pretty general term. Riley would have never imagined that they would be attending her wedding. Of course, she and OC hated each other and now they were marrying each other. Riley would have never imagined that either. Even still, she thought the guys were all here for OC, not for her.

When Riley approached the main doors at the back of the church, the butterflies in her stomach started to build. She caught a glimpse of her fiancée at the altar, looking just as nervous as her. They caught each other's eyes and smiled, and that was all either of them needed.

OC thought his bride looked stunning. OC's eyes were glued to Riley as she walked down the aisle with her mom escorting her. His excitement grew - he couldn't wait to marry her. Riley looked on both sides of the aisle to catch glimpses of her family and friends. As she saw the familiar faces of the Olympic team she grew to love, she realized that they were here for her as much as they were here for OC.

Bah, with his arm around his very pregnant wife, Kristen, winked at her as she passed, as if giving her extra encouragement or something. Riley smiled back. After getting halfway up the long aisle of the church, Riley turned her attention to her soon to be husband.

"You look amazing," OC whispered as soon as Riley was within earshot.

"Thanks, Jack," Riley told him. "You look great too," she added. When the Mass was over, the happy couple walked down the aisle, hand in hand, ready to continue their life together.

**July 1990**

"Mommy, I'm gonna play on the slide," a little boy with very light brown, somewhat shaggy, hair said before running off.

"I'm goin' too," a little girl in braided pigtails said, also running off from her parents.

"Sometimes I wish they'd never grow up, Kristen said, watching her son play with the little girl.

"I know," Riley agreed. "Rachel's getting so big. I can't believe she'll be five in another month."

"You saw Billy right?" Kristen asked. "I can't believe he's already nine!"

"Don't remind me. It makes me feel old," Gayle said, having had just walked up to where the two women were standing.

"We're still young though," Kristen told her. "You had him early."

"I'm so glad we got to do this," Gayle said. She was talking about the reunion picnic everyone was at. A couple guys on the team had set up a picnic in Minnesota so everyone could see each other again.

"Hey baby," OC said as he walked up to Riley and snaked his arm around her waist. "You wanted orange, right?" he asked, handing her a can of pop.

"Yeah, thanks Jack," Riley said, giving Jack a peck on the lips. As Riley continued talking to the girls, Jack stood behind her and casually rubbed his wife's stomach with one hand as he talked to a couple of his old teammates, who were now also standing nearby.

"It's so nice seeing all the kids playing together," Silky's wife Shannon, said.

"I can't believe almost all of us have kids," OC said.

"A lot can change in ten years," Silky said, smiling at his wife. They had two daughters now, a three year old and a six month old.

"It sure can," Riley agreed, turning her head to smile at OC. OC pulled Riley closer now, her back pressed against his chest. His hands rested comfortably on her stomach.

"How's my little guy doing?" OC asked, bending down to whisper in his wife's ear.

Riley rested her hands over OC's. "He wants to join in the fun. He's been kicking all afternoon."

"We got ourselves a little hockey player in there," OC told her.

"Another you," Riley said. "Just what the world needs," she said half sarcastically.

"Hey, hey!" OC protested, sort of loudly. "Watch it," he told her, attempting to sound serious. He was back to almost whispering now, making it a private conversation.

"I like when you make me pay for things," Riley whispered back, a sly grin on her face.

"I know," OC said, quickly kissing Riley's neck. "I have to work on better punishments," he joked.

"Daddy!" a child screamed, making all the fathers turn to see if it was their child. It was Rammer's son. "Hannah pushed me!"

"That's just 'cause you pushed me first," a little girl yelled over.

"The one thing I hate about being a parent," Rammer sighed, loud enough for his friends to hear. "Taking sides."

"It's even worse with two girls," Silky said.

OC spoke up. "Your kids can't fight! Abby can't even talk."

"He can't wait for her to start though," Shannon joked.

"I'm glad we don't have any daughters," Buzz said. He and Gayle had two sons. "Girls seem like more work."

"But they're so cute!" Kristen said. She and Bah had a year old daughter.

"I'm glad we had a daughter," Bah said. "If not I was afraid Kris was going to start dressing Tommy up in ballet outfits," he teased her.

"Well, I needed to dress someone up in pink."

"I'm glad I have two daughters," Silk said. "Then they can't say I don't treat them fairly."

Shannon elaborated on Silky's comment, because she heard his explanation so often. "Yeah, we won't have to listen to complaining when they can't leave the house, because neither one of them will be leaving," Shannon said, rolling her eyes.

"What?" Silky asked. "I can't help it if I want to protect my little girls."

"Yeah, it's because you know exactly what all those boys want," OC said.

"They're not getting it from my little girls."

"Well, it looks like Mac is going to have a problem with his daughter," Riley said.

"Megan Elaine McClanahan!" Mac yelled.

The people who saw what was going on laughed. Megan, a cute little four year old was under the slide, kissing Emma and Pav's six year old son.

"Ryan!" Pav yelled. "Get over here!" Then he said to Mac, "I'm really sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Mac mumbled. "I bet it was Megan that started it. She kissed some boy in her preschool class on the last day of school."

"They expel her?" Rammer asked, jokingly.

"It was the last day, so no. But I bet they would have. Kissing boys at four years old doesn't go over well in Catholic schools."

"I'm sure kissing boys at four doesn't go over well in any school," Kristen laughed.

"I'm yelling at Ryan anyway," Pav said. "I'm convinced his mother is a bad influence on him."

"Riley, OC, Silky, and a couple other people gave Pav a funny look. _Wasn't his mother Emma?_ they were all silently wondering.

As Pav walked away to talk to Ryan, Bah explained the situation to his friends. "They're separated. Well, sort of. I don't know if you can be officially separated if you were never married to begin with."

"That's too bad," OC said.

"No it's not," Bah said, completely seriously.

Kristen agreed. "They fight all the time. When they talked about getting engaged two years ago, we talked them out of it."

"I had to convince Emma that getting married wouldn't magically stop the arguing," Bah said.

"I can't picture Pav being that confrontational," Silky said.

Kristen and Bah shared a look. "Emma is always the one that starts it," Bah then said.

"It's because she loves him," Kristen reminded her husband.

"She has a funny way of showing her love," Bah said.

"You should know that by now," Kristen said, having had witnessed tons of fights between the best friends over the years. "She starts things with you too."

"I thought of another one," OC whispered to Riley. He was still standing behind her with his arms wrapped protectively around her.

"What's that?" Riley asked.

"I don't think you're going to like it," OC told her.

"Then why'd you mention it?" Riley laughed.

"I don't know. Because it just popped into my head."

"Well, what is it. Even if I won't like it, tell me anyway."

"Come to think of it, I don't like it that much," OC said, stalling.

"Tell me," Riley said.

"David."

"As in David, like named after Silky?" Riley wondered. "Absolutely not!"

"Like I said, after thinking about it I realized it wasn't a good idea." A minute later, OC said. "I have another one."

"As long as it's not Robbie, or Mike, or Phil..." Riley said.

"Daniel."

"After my dad?" Riley wondered.

"Yeah," OC said, smiling at his beautifully glowing wife.

Riley smiled. "You really want to name our son after my dad?"

"Of course," Jack said. "I think it's great."

"I don't know if it sounds good with O'Callahan though."

"It sounds fine."

"Dan O'Callahan?" Riley asked, making a face. "It almost rhymes."

"We'll call him Daniel then. Or Danny." As Riley thought about the names in her head, OC then said, "Or we could use it as a middle name if that's better."

"We'll talk about it later," Riley said. "Unfortunately well still have a few months to think about it."

"I love you," OC said, smiling at Riley.

"Love you too," Riley responded, also smiling.

**Salt Lake City, February 2002**

Over the twelve years following the reunion picnic, the guys saw less and less of each other, but it was easy to stay in touch with expanding technology. This year the team was all getting back together again because they were taking part in the Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake. They were actually the ones that would be lighting the flame.

Most of them were bringing their families along and making a little vacation out of it. The guy's wives and kids were all excited because most had never seen the Olympics live before. The wives that had been to the 1980 Olympics were all excited as well, because they wanted to see the friends that they made along their boyfriends' Olympic journeys, ones that they hadn't seen in so long.

The night before the opening ceremonies, the guys were all in town already, and Rizzo reserved a banquet hall to have a dinner together.

Kristen and Bah had just walked in, all three of their children in tow, when Kristen heard someone call her name.

"Kristen?"

She turned around to see Riley standing nearby. She hadn't changed much in twelve years at all. "Riley!" Kristen exclaimed, running over to give her a hug.

"What's this? I don't even get recognized?" Bah joked, faking disappointment.

"Get over here," Riley said, giving him a hug too. The three kids were standing in the background, watching their parents.

"Are these the kids?" Riley asked, though knowing that they must be. "Tommy and Jessica?" she then asked, remembering the oldest two's names as they were at the picnic.

"Tom," he corrected, sticking out his hand to shake Riley's.

"Yeah, he just goes by Tom now," Kristen said. "Gets mad when I call him Tommy, especially if his girlfriend is around," Kristen said, half whispering. Tom rolled his eyes, having had heard his mother.

"Oh my God, I can't believe how big you are now. Last time I saw you, you were this big," Riley said, holding her hand just under her waist.

"And you too," Riley told Jessica. "You're what? Thirteen or so?" Riley asked, remembering she was about a year old at the picnic. The girl nodded.

"And you have another?" Riley said to Bah and Kristen.

"This is Kaitlin," Bah said.

"I'm nine," Kaitlin told Riley.

"Well it's nice to meet you," Riley said. "My kids are somewhere around here. I think Rachel took Aaron to get something to drink, and last I saw, Jack was talking to Rizzo and Silky."

"Was that Silky's daughter we saw in the parking lot on the way in?" Bah asked, knowing Riley would know what they were talking about. The girl was hard to miss.

"Yep, that's his oldest."

"He has his hands full," Bah said.

"Can you believe she's only fifteen?" Riley asked.

"She looks more like eighteen or so," Bah commented. The girl did look much older than her age. She also looked exact like Silky, except a long haired, female version of him.

"Tom thought she was," Kaitlin piped up. "He also thought she was hot," Kaitlin added, matter-of-factly.

"Did not."

"Yuh huh. I saw you checking her out."

"Whatever."

"Why don't you kids all find a place to sit?" Kristen suggested. "Go make some new friends. There are lots of people your ages here."

The three kids all left and the adults finished their conversation.

"Girls!" Gayle then exclaimed, walking over with Rizzo's wife, Pam. "It's been way too long," she said, all four girls taking turns with hugs.

The night continued much like this, with everyone getting to see everyone else, meeting the wives and kids they hadn't met yet, reconnecting. As expected, Rizzo being the motivational speaker that he was, there was a short speech after everyone was seated and before dinner was served.

He said how grateful he was that they could all share this together and that it was great to see everyone. He said how no one had changed, even though they had all changed a lot at the same time. As if to prove this point, Verchota made the announcement "Let's eat!" at the end of the speech. Silky then chimed in, "I'm surprised were not eating meatballs."

Everyone that knew the inside joke laughed. They all knew that no matter what changed, whether it was for better or worse, whether they were together or not, some things would always be the same and they would always be a family.


End file.
